Cantwell Fights Cuts to Medicare Reimbursements
Cantwell: Projected cuts would undermine physicians’ ability to provide seniors with quality health care
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined a broad bipartisan coalition of her Senate colleagues to fight drastic cuts in reimbursements to physicians who treat Medicare patients. Without Congressional action to allow more equitable physician reimbursements, rates will drop by an additional five percent in January 2007. When added to other projected cuts, rates will drop a total of 37 percent by 2015.
“These cuts will prevent even more of our seniors from getting the care they desperately need and could destabilize our entire Medicare system,” said Cantwell. “With reimbursements dropping every year, it’s becoming more and more difficult for physicians to keep their doors open to Medicare patients. Without physician reimbursement rates that keep pace with the rising cost of healthcare, those who need this care most, especially in rural areas, will no longer get all the care they need. I will keep fighting to stop the scheduled cuts and make sure the cost of restoring physician payment rates isn’t born on the backs of our seniors.”
In a letter sent Monday to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Cantwell and 79 of her Senate colleagues asked that the leaders work with the Finance Committee to address the reimbursement rate decrease as soon as possible.
“Physicians are the foundation of the American health-care system,” the senators wrote. “A stable payment structure for physician services is critical. The average 2006 Medicare rates for paying physicians are about the same as they were in 2001. If the 2007 cut is imposed, then the aggregate payment rates since 2001 will have fallen 20 percent below the government’s conservative measure of inflation for medical practice costs.”
To ensure adequate reimbursement rates without increasing the costs incurred by seniors already struggling on tight budgets, Cantwell introduced the Affordable Access to Medicare Providers Act (S. 1574) in July 2005. This legislation would provide stability in physician Medicare payment rates so that physicians can continue to offer high quality healthcare services while ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries are not saddled with even higher premiums for physicians’ services. Unlike other proposals to prevent payment cuts to doctors, Cantwell’s bill would not push the expense onto seniors.
Scheduled Medicare reimbursement rate cuts are the result of a flawed Medicare sustainable growth rate formula that links physician payments to gross domestic product (GDP). GDP, however, bears little connection to actual fluctuation in the cost of patient services, leaving projected changes in reimbursements rates disconnected from rising health care costs.
According to a 2006 American Medical Association survey, if predicted cuts go into effect, 45 percent of physicians plan to decrease the number of new Medicare patients they accept, and 50 percent plan to put off the purchase of new medical technology. In addition, 37 percent of those who treat rural patients plan to discontinue rural outreach services, and 43 percent will decrease the number of new veterans they treat through the TRICARE program. TRICARE, the nation’s health care program for veterans, ties its rates to Medicare reimbursement rates.
A copy of the senators’ letter to Senate leaders can be found here
###
Next Article Previous Article
