Eight out of 10 Americans are concerned about access to care for seniors and baby boomers due the physician payment cuts scheduled for July 1, according to a poll conducted by the American Medical Association.
Payments to physicians will be cut by 10.6 percent in July, and those cuts are expected to grow to about 40 percent while medical practice costs are expected to increase by 20 percent.
"As physicians, we are terribly concerned about how these Medicare cuts will impact our senior patients," said AMA board member William A. Hazel, MD. "Seniors and boomers are concerned, too. Our new poll shows that 88 percent of current Medicare patients are worried about how the cuts will impact their access to health care."
The first wave of baby boomers will be eligible for Medicare in three years when they turn 65.
Seniors who rely on Medicare will be hurt by the cuts, as 60 percent of physicians say this year's cut alone will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat. Already 30 percent of Medicare patients looking for a new primary care physician are having trouble finding one, and the cuts will make access woes much worse, the AMA said.
"Military families are at risk, too, as the government will also cut payments to physicians caring for military families in the Tricare program," said Hazel.
Congressional action is seen as the only cure for the cuts, and nearly three-quarters of Americans polled believe Congress should stop the cuts so that physicians can continue to care for Medicare patients.
The Save Medicare Act of 2008 (S. 2785), which would replace 18 months of cuts that begin in July with payment increases that better reflect medical practice costs, was recently introduced in the Senate by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
"Congress has only a short window of time to act as the first Medicare cut begins in three months," said Hazel. "Physicians and now patients have spoken: Congress should stop the cuts to preserve seniors' access to care."