November 19, 2010 | Comments Off on FURTHER POSTPONEMENT OF PHYSICIAN MEDICARE CUT POSSIBLE
Posted by Sharlene Hunt
In an earlier blog post, we reported on a temporary fix adopted by Congress to address the reduction in Medicare reimbursement to physicians. That temporary fix is due to expire at the end of this month. Yesterday, the Senate voted once again to postpone the cut in Medicare physician payment rates on a temporary basis, this time through December 31, 2010, although apparently there are further discussions taking place regarding an additional 12 month postponement. Although a postponement is better than implementing the pay cut, these Congressional band aids do nothing to contribute to a permanent resolution of the pay cut issue.
In the event the pay cut issue is not addressed on a permanent basis, and at some point the Medicare pay cuts are implemented, be that January 1, 2011 or January 1, 2012, it will have a tremendous economic impact not only on physicians who treat Medicare patients, but also on all other health care providers who employ physicians or otherwise get paid for physician services. To the extent Medicare reimbursement is insufficient to cover the cost of providing physician services, physicians or their employers may be economically unable to continue to provide care to Medicare patients. The Senior Vice President of the AARP is quoted by the AP as hailing the temporary postponement of the pay cut because Medicare patients will be able to “continue to see their doctors during the holiday season.” This response seems short sighted in light of the potential devastating impact of failing to address the pay cut on a permanent basis.