The American Medical Association has joined 65 national physician organizations in urging Congress to stop the 30 percent Medicare pay cuts to take effect at the end of the year.
According to AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD, Congress has repeatedly failed to fix the flawed Medicare physician payment formula, relying instead on temporary reprieves from scheduled cuts. The latest action stabilized Medicare physician payments only through the end of November.
If Congress doesn’t act by December 1, Medicare payments for physician services will be slashed by more than 23 percent. An additional cut of 6.5 percent will follow on January 1, Wilson said. Without a permanent fix, Medicare would face a “meltdown,” which the AMA claims could restrict access to care for seniors as doctors drop from the program.
Wilson cited a 2010 MedPAC survey that found that one in four seniors looking for a new primary care physician had trouble finding one.
“The threat of cuts to already low Medicare rates has left many physicians uncertain about the future of Medicare in their practice,” he said.
The Community Oncology Alliance is also calling on Congress to prevent Medicare reimbursement cuts for oncology care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed cuts for 2011 through 2013.
“Community oncology cannot withstand yet another reimbursement cut and continue to deliver cutting edge care. Our progress will be lost and patients will suffer if the proposed cuts are implemented,” said COA President David Eagle.
Since 2004, reimbursement for the administration of chemotherapy has been cut by an estimated 35 percent, according to Ted Okon, executive director of the COA.
When taking into account the increased costs of operating a medical practice as measured by the Medical Economic Index, these cuts result in an effective reduction of 47 percent, Okon said.
Eighty-five members of the House submitted a letter to federal officials on October 6 calling on them to eliminate additional cuts to cancer care as proposed in the fee schedule. The letter, sponsored by Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) was delivered to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CMS Administrator Donald M. Berwick, MD.