Congressional action on Medicare physician reimbursements unlikely before election

Sep 14 2006

William Hoagland, the top budget aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), on Tuesday told health insurance industry officials that Congress likely will address a scheduled 5.1% reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements this year but not until after the midterm election, CQ HealthBeat reports.

According to Hoagland, in the event that legislation to reverse the reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements reaches the Senate floor, a point of order likely would require reductions in other areas, such as skilled nursing facility payments, to cover the cost.

Such a move is "not a favorable and happy trade-off right before the elections," he said.

Hoagland added that Congress might waive the penalty this year for late enrollment in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, a move that would cost $600 million (CQ HealthBeat, 9/12).

Opinion Piece

"We must ensure Congress takes action" on the scheduled reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements "before it adjourns this fall and time runs out to protect access to care for this and future generations of seniors," William Plested, president of the American Medical Association writes in a Rochester Democrat & Chronicle opinion piece.

"Faced with looming Medicare cuts, dedicated physicians are forced to question whether they will still be able to be there for Medicare patients," he writes, adding, "Seniors are already beginning to feel the impact of the government's foolhardy scheme."

According to Plested, the "greatest fear" for AMA is that "Medicare patients will lose access to dedicated doctors as they are forced to change the way they practice medicine."

He write that "Congress has the ability and the authority to set Medicare on the right course for the future by stopping Medicare cuts and tying payments to practice costs" (Plested, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 9/13).