Last Minute Change of Heart by GOP Too Late to
Save Docs from Giant Medicare Pay Cut
Congress is playing Russian roulette with seniors’
health care,” said AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD
June 18, 2010 – After months of fighting back
attempts by the Democrats to restore a gigantic 21.3 percent reduction
in pay for doctors to treat Medicare patients, the Republicans relented
early this afternoon and supported a six-month extension. It looked good
for the doctors and senior citizens worried about their doctors leaving
Medicare, but then hope and joy faded. Medicare had already begun
processing payments at the reduced rate, which was actually effective on
June 1.
Docs who treat senior citizens in Medicare
were facing 21% pay cut today; Republicans have repeatedly
blocked Democratic effort to stop the pay reduction
“Moments after the Senate acted, Medicare announced
it would begin processing claims it has already received for June at the
lower rate. The reason: the House cannot act on the fix until next
week,” reports the
Associated Press
late this afternoon.
“That means doctors, nurse practitioners, physical
therapists and other providers who bill under Medicare's physician fee
schedule will have to resubmit their claims if they want to be made
whole, with added paperwork costs both for the providers and for
taxpayers.”
Earlier in the day, the Republicans, who have
blocked all efforts by Democrats to stop the 21.3 percent Medicare pay
cut for doctors, agreed to a six-month extension of current pay rates,
after Democrats said the extension will not add to the federal deficit.
Most Medicare and senior citizen advocates fear the
pay cut will motivate many doctors to drop Medicare patients.
“The Senate's late action only gets the bill a
third of the way into law, but should enable the federal government to
stall the payment cut. The measure is expected to be taken up in the
House of Representatives Monday,” according to a report by
ABC News,
which was released before it was known that Medicare was already
processing payments.
“The more than $6 billion measure would be paid for
by limiting how much some companies have to obligate to pension funds,
raising more than $2 billion because those companies would pay taxes on
the money not placed in the pension funds. The pension measure is worth
$4 billion to the government,”
ABC
reports.
“Another cost-offset would limit when Medicare can
adjust claims made by hospitals for inpatients. This would save the
government more than $4 billion.”
The American Medical Association website opens with
the headline, “Congress Fails Seniors; 21 Percent Medicare Cut in Effect
Today
“Today, Medicare begins processing physician
payments with the drastic 21 percent cut that Congress failed to stop,
and now seniors and physicians are paying the price of Congress’
Medicare mismanagement,” says an AMA news release.
“Congress is playing Russian roulette with seniors’
health care,” said AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD. “Congress has
finally taken its game of brinkmanship too far, as the steep 21 percent
cut is now in effect and physicians will be forced to make difficult
practice changes to keep their practice doors open.”
“This is no way to run a major health coverage
program,” said Dr. Wilson. “Already the instability caused by repeated
short-term delays is taking its toll. About one in five physicians say
they have already been forced to limit the number of Medicare patients
in their practice.
“Nearly one-third of primary care physicians have
already been forced to take that action. The top two reasons physicians
gave for these actions were the ongoing threat of future cuts and the
fact that Medicare payment rates were already too low.”
“It is astounding that Congress has let seniors
down through their inability to deal with this problem on time and in a
responsible fashion,” said Dr. Wilson. This afternoon, the Senate voted
to delay the cut another six months, but the cut is still in place until
the U.S. House of Representatives acts.
President Obama urged Congress to fix the problem
in his weekly radio address last Saturday, saying, “I realize that
simply kicking these cuts down the road another year is not a long-term
solution. I am committed to permanently reforming this Medicare formula
in a way that balances fiscal responsibility with the responsibility we
have to doctors and seniors.”
“The billings affected by the cut cover the early
part of this month,” according to the
AP.
“An earlier congressional reprieve expired May 31.
Medicare had been holding off on processing claims in the hopes
lawmakers would act, but the agency said it can no longer do that
without hurting doctors' cash flow.
“The Medicare cuts are required under a 1990s
budget-cutting law that Congress has routinely waived. This time,
lawmakers' concerns about adding to the deficit held up a deal to allow
an exception to enforcement of the law.
“The bill passed by the Senate delays the cuts
until the end of November — after congressional elections — when
lawmakers hope the political climate is better for passing a more
permanent, and expensive, solution.
“The bill would also increase payments to providers
by 2.2 percent. The legislation, which costs about $6.5 billion, is paid
for with a series of health care and pension changes that both Democrats
and Republicans agreed to.
“Vice President Joe Biden, speaking before the
Senate acted, blamed Republicans for being unwilling go along with a
permanent fix to the doctor cuts — which would cost tens of billions
more. He said the underlying physician payment formula is unworkable,
and should be repealed.
"The failure to deal with this problem adds to the
anxiety of seniors...and complicates the planning for medical practice,"
Biden said. "It's just not fair to keep this anxiety level constantly in
play here."
He called it "a shameful example of business as
usual."
AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond
released this statement regarding the Sustainable Growth Rate formula:
“After years of band-aid patches and short-term
fixes, doctors caring for the millions of seniors in Medicare are now
reckoning with an unprecedented 21 percent cut to their reimbursement
rates. This cut creates a dangerous atmosphere for seniors and their
doctors, and will contribute to more doctors making the decision already
made by some physicians to stop taking Medicare patients.
“Both the House and Senate have passed Sustainable
Growth Rate (SGR) fixes to help provide temporary security for the
millions of seniors in Medicare and the doctors who care for them. We
urge Congress to work together to pass the longest extension possible,
as soon as possible.
“Finding a physician is already a challenge for our
members and older Americans. By allowing these cuts to take effect
Congress has only made this challenge more difficult for millions of
seniors already in Medicare and those entering the program for the first
time.
“We remain committed to working with Congress to
repeal the SGR and replace it with a permanent physician payment system
that rewards quality and value and ends the uncertainty for patients and
providers alike. But Congressional inaction must no longer get between
someone in Medicare and their doctor.”
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
June 18, 2010 – After months of fighting back
attempts by the Democrats to restore a gigantic 21.3 percent reduction
in pay for doctors to treat Medicare patients, the Republicans relented
early this afternoon and supported a six-month extension. It looked good
for the doctors and senior citizens worried about their doctors leaving
Medicare, but then hope and joy faded. Medicare had already begun
processing payments at the reduced rate, which was actually effective on
June 1.
Docs who treat senior citizens in Medicare
were facing 21% pay cut today; Republicans have repeatedly
blocked Democratic effort to stop the pay reduction
Bill passed with help of only three Republicans,
signed by President last night
