Rather
than fix the physician reimbursement model, Congress has year after year just
put the hard decisions off to another year. The annual cuts that have been
delayed each year now add up to a total of 24%. No one honestly thinks
the physicians should face a 24% cut in reimbursement nor does anyone believe
that the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula is actually
sustainable. What does Congress do
though when faced with the opportunity to fix this broken reimbursement model
in the most recent budget? They
postpone again and continue with a flawed model.
Hospitals and Doctors: Blindsided, Bewildered, and Beleagured
Evan Albright, Contributor
Congress is not borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, it’s stealing from Peter’s doctor to pay him.
The new budget deal announced earlier this week was built in part upon future cuts to healthcare providers who treat Medicare patients. The so-called sequester cuts which at the beginning of this year reduced Medicare payments to providers by 2 percent were supposed to expire in 2022; House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) reached a budget compromise that would extend that cut for another two years.
The deal reportedly “blindsided” healthcare providers. This and other cuts rub against the promises of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as we are entering a world where healthcare providers are seen as funding sources. Your doctor, your local hospital, the clinic down the street, are being squeezed like never before. Some of it is self-inflicted, but today Congress, insurance companies, and patients are running roughshod over healthcare providers for one reason only — because they can.
Read the rest of the Forbes Article: Link
