Medicare Cuts May Mean Fewer Physicians for Seniors
Medicare Cuts May Mean Fewer Physicians for Seniors
Doctors are at it again. This time nearly 50% of medical practices in the United States claim they will stop accepting new Medicare patients if scheduled reimbursement cuts take effect.
According to Alan Weinstock, insurance broker at http://www.MedicareSupplementPlans.com, "The impact to seniors of physicians opting out and not participating in the Medicare program has not been a serious problem yet; however, if large numbers of physicians join this group it may be difficult for seniors to have access to affordable health care."
Physician response was in reaction to the congressional action taken this past June to avert the Medicare payment cut. It was ultimately delayed and increased to approximately 23% effective on December 1, 2010. In addition, another reduction of 6.1% was added to the Medicare Part B conversion factor effective January 1, 2011.
Sustainable Growth Rate, 2010
The new report indicated that of the over 63,000 physicians who responded, they felt that cuts in Medicare reimbursement would result in cuts in their practices as well.
Overall, the survey found that while approximately 92% of practices are currently accepting Medicare patients, this number could change drastically. And the reimbursement cuts would likely result in:
Limiting the addition of new Medicare patients (67.2%)
Reduction in the number of administrative support staff (60.5%)
Reduction in the number of clinical staff (54.0%)
Delayed purchase of electronic health systems (45.3%)
Delayed purchase of electronic prescribing technologies (42.4%)
According to the survey, results align with decisions undertaken by physician practices after Congress postponed action on reimbursement cuts in June. Unfortunately, even though over three-quarters of U.S. physicians are dissatisfied with Medicare reimbursements, there is little consensus on how to reform the system.
New Report from Mount Sinai School of Medicine
A secondary national survey of approximately 6,000 randomly selected physicians, rated physician support for several Medicare reimbursement reform proposals.
Of the 1,222 physicians who respondedmost of whom accepted Medicareapproximately 78% thought that some Medicare procedures were either too highly compensated or not compensated enough.
Nearly half of respondents favored offering incentivessuch as bonuses for achieving certain quality standards and preventing re-hospitalizationas a means to payment reform. However, 46% of physicians did not support shifting payments away from procedures and toward management and counseling services and 69% of respondents said they opposed bundling payments.
In the end successful implementation of payment reforms may hinge on understanding physician concerns with proposals and their willingness to compromise or make tradeoffs.
Medicare Beneficiaries Start Early to Find Primary Care Physician
That's why it is important that as Americans become eligible for Medicare insurance they start early to find a physician who has not opted out of Medicare. It is equally important that seniors take the time to determine the best Medicare plan for them. That might include supplement insurance coverage.
And finding the right plan with the best benefits at the lowest price is as easy as pointing and clicking. For seniors who are looking for assistance in selecting the right Medicare supplement plan, the brokers at http://www.MedicareSupplementPlans.com can answer their questions.
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