Time runs out for congress to block Medicare cut
posted 12.27.05
To avoid a scheduled 4.4-percent cut in Medicare physician reimbursement, Congress had to pass a bill before the end of the year. They didn’t do it. Both the House and the Senate passed mid-December fiscal measures that would have eliminated the cuts, but for the legislation to make it to the president’s desk, changes in the Senate version needed one last House vote that never came. That inaction will force CMS to enact the payment reduction on Jan. 1, 2006.
“For family physicians and our patients, this Medicare pay cut will create problems: access problems for patients and cash flow problems for physicians,” said Larry Fields, M.D., President, American Academy of Family Physicians, according to an AAFP release. “Even if the cut in payment is eventually restored, physicians face a deficiency in operating capital until such time that the money does become available.”
The AAFP President had harsh words for the congressional inaction in his statement. “Letting petty politics and red tape stand in the way of adequate health care for these 43 million Americans is an unconscionable abrogation of responsibility.”
The Academy worked at a fevered pace during December to reverse the payment reduction and despite the outcome, Congress heard organized medicine’s message. Since both the House and Senate passed versions of the bill that would freeze physician Medicare payments at 2005 levels, there is reason to hope that when Congress goes back to work in the new year, the cuts could be reversed. The Academy has vowed to redouble its efforts and to fight for retroactive payments to cover losses experienced after January 1.
“America’s family physicians will be faithful to our pledge to always stand by our patients,” Fields said, “but the people in Washington who are responsible for this sad state of affairs should act quickly to fix this problem on a permanent basis.”