The public is not going to stand for the decimation of their doctors.
“The public is not going to stand for the decimation of their doctors.”
12 months ago I said America would never elect a man names “Hussein”.
Unknown to the public, the Medicare Part B, as part of the 1987 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Bill, phased in surgery subspecialty cuts of a draconian nature, not effective until Jan 1 1991. Some specialties had the base points and time points cut so severely that as much as a 65% reduction in service payment resulted that HAS REMAINED IN PLACE 18 years. The practices of surgical subspecialties has relied heavily on PRIVATE INS. to offset the heavy Medicare Part B reductions. THe break year was 1990/1991...it is never mentioned in any discussions of Medicare reimbursement changes...Payment schedules have had a ‘L’ shaped collapse since ‘91 with NO recovery and only threats of further reductions.
In addition, the Medicare B cuts took more money from MDs practices than was required for malpractice premiums. For most specialties, loaded heavily with Medicare B, return of the 1990 reimbursement rate erases the malpractice premium totally. This is never mentioned or documented per specialty in any articles. Return to the 1990 levels of reimbursement, and surgical specialties will love to see Medicare patients again, and their financial malpractice problem disappears.