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Medicare Fee Cut Slides Through Again

On Dec. 9, 2010, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that will prevent the 25 percent cut in the Medicare physician fee schedule proposed to take place Jan. 1, 2011, under the statutory "sustainable growth rate" formula. Just one day prior to the House of Representatives decision, the Senate had already voted, unanimously, to avert the cut as well. The bill, known as H.R. 4994 has been sent to the President, who has preliminarily expressed his support of the bill.

According to a recent article in American Medical News,

Since 2002, the sustainable growth rate formula, based on the economy and Medicare spending, has calculated continued declines in physician pay, which Congress then overrode. Congress has overridden those declines five times in 2010 alone. Numerous surveys by the American Medical Association and others have found that physicians facing Medicare pay reductions said they were less likely to accept more patients in the program, or that they might drop Medicare altogether. Those surveyed said seniors view Medicare physician pay cuts as a serious problem that requires swift congressional action. Stopping the steep 25% Medicare cut for one year was vital to preserve seniors' access to physician care in 2011, AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD, said after the House vote. Many physicians made clear that this year's roller coaster ride, caused by five delays of this year's cut, forced them to make difficult practice changes like limiting the number of Medicare patients they could treat.

President Obama is hoping for a permanent solution to the issues with the Medicare payment system to be passed in 2011.

More good news, the current bill keeps Medicare physician pay at its present level, including the 2.2 percent increase that physicians received in June of this year.

To Learn More

For more information, contact HORNE Manager Sharon Walden at sharon.walden@horne-llp.com or 225.341.3189.  

Sharon Walden serves as a manager in health care services for HORNE LLP. She provides a variety of services to health care clients including valuation of health care entities, design and valuation of physician compensation agreements and provides consulting services to hospitals, health care entities and physician group practices on operational, compliance and revenue cycle matters.

Sharon has more than 25 years of experience within the health care industry. Her career experience includes working as a health care consultant for the past 10 years with a focus on hospital-physician acquisitions, valuations, physician compensation agreements, operational and revenue cycle management. She worked as the director of patient financial services for two hospitals in South Carolina and as the manager for an ambulatory surgery center. She has also worked for several physician group practices.