Is There a Solution to the Medicare Physician Payment Problem?
Unless Congress acts soon, Medicare fees paid to physicians will be cut automatically 10 percent next year, with additional cuts of about 5 percent every year beginning in 2009. Organized medicine has made it clear that cuts of such magnitude would adversely affect senior access to health care as physicians close off their practices to new Medicare patients. A more reasonable payment schedule, however, could add as much as $260 billion to the cost of Medicare over the next decade. The recent report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (the government commission that advises Congress on Medicare policy, also known as MedPAC) offering policy options met a hostile reception on the Hill, and the prospects for a permanent solution remain dim. Panelists at this April 3 event discussed alternative approaches to resolving the Medicare physician payment problem. Mark Miller, executive director of MedPAC, presented the commission’s proposals. Bruce Steinwald, director of health policy a
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