Associations representing physicians and medical groups aren't happy with Congress at the moment. Groups have blasted Congress for allowing Medicare claims to be processed at the 21% reduced rate today. Here's a round-up of what's been said:
American College of Physicians (ACP)
"If Medicare begins paying physician claims with the 21% reduction starting on April 15, any short-term fix that might be legislated this weekend or later - even though retroactive - likely will create a cash-flow problem in the meantime with claims being paid at the lower rate," Joseph Stubbs, MD, ACP president said. "This will send an unfortunate message to Medicare beneficiaries."
"There's the additional wrinkle that doctors may have to go back and re-bill patients for higher co-insurance once the payments are restored retroactively," Dr. Stubbs concluded. "If Congress then applies some short-term fix - be it for six weeks or six months - the added cost of rebilling will just add to the chaos."
American Medical Association (AMA)
"Congress' inability to solve this problem once and for all through repeal of the broken payment formula will hurt seniors, military families and the physicians who care for them," J. James Rohack, MD, AMA president said. "It is impossible for physicians to continue to care for all seniors when Medicare payments fall so far below the cost of providing care. In an informal poll, 68 percent of physicians tell AMA they will be forced to limit the number of Medicare patients they can care for. Already, about one in four Medicare patients seeking a new primary care physician are experiencing difficulty finding one.
"Fixing the Medicare physician payment problem is essential to the stability of Medicare. If Congress fails to repeal the formula, the problem will continue to grow. Seven times in seven years Congress voted not to impose cuts triggered by the flawed payment formula, putting off paying for it until another day."