Congress approved measures Thursday night to postpone a 21 percent pay cut in Medicare physician reimbursement until June 1.
This is the third time lawmakers have delayed the cut this year. Each time they vowed to tackle a more permanent fix, only to get mired in the legislative process.
Joseph W. Stubbs, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, said the lack of a permanent solution is creating "total chaos" for physicians.
"Because of Congress' inability to find answers to the ongoing Medicare physician payment dilemma, physicians across the country are unable to accept and treat new Medicare patients," she said.
Stubbs and others say a permanent fix is the only answer.
"Congress' failure to stave off the Medicare physician payment cut leaves physicians in limbo and puts seniors' access to care and choice of physician in serious jeopardy," said J. James Rohack, MD, president of the American Medical Association.
Rohack added that the continued uncertainty coupled with the fact that Medicare payments – even without the 21 percent cut – have not kept up with the cost of providing care to seniors demonstrates the need for a permanent solution to this annual problem.
Congress has voted not to impose cuts triggered by the flawed Medicare physician payment formula seven times over the past seven years, putting off paying for it until another day, Rohack said.
"Congress' inability to solve this problem has not only made it impossible for physicians to keep seeing all Medicare patients, it has more than quadrupled the price of a solution for taxpayers," he said.