- Beginning next year, Medicare patients will see a reduction in reimbursements of doctors who treat them.
- Doctors warn seniors that cuts could prevent them from accessing vital health services.
- A bipartisan group made up of congressmen wrote to the congressional leadership asking for their intervention.
Next year, Medicare will see new changes. These changes will likely increase the cost of healthcare for doctors and make it more difficult for older patients to access essential care.
In November, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is a federal agency of Department of Health and Human Services announced several policy modifications that will take effect in the first quarter of next year.
One of them is Medicare cuts for doctors through the Physician Fee Schedule. This schedule determines which services doctors get reimbursed and how much. Medicare reimbursement will decrease by about 4.5%, and surgical care will face a nearly 8.5% cut.
Insider was told by Christian Shalgain (Director of Advocacy and Health Policy, American College of Surgeons), that “it’s affecting doctors’ ability to run their businesses.” “I’ve spoken with doctors who say, ‘I need to decide whether I want to hire a person or buy new equipment.’ From a patient’s point of view, that’s a serious problem.
It will affect the ability of healthcare providers to hire more nurses, doctors and other staff as well as pay for necessary equipment. This can impact the quality of care patients receive and even how many Medicare patients a provider can accept, Shalgain stated.
Congress was able to pass the Constitution in years past. Put offThese pre-planned cuts are made until the next year. The plan can be scrapped or reduced in different ways. Every year, doctor’s groups lobby Congress to intervene. They claim it stretches their budgets thin which is especially problematic considering that hospitals are a major source of funding. Already stressedCOVID and healthcare costsThey are on the rise.
Despite the fact that the races remaining are too close to call, Democrats will likely lose control in the House this year’s midterms. But they did. You can keep controlThe Senate, in a Surprise rebukeThe GOP platform. Republicans have SignedAn inclination to push Medicare cuts in general. Having less power than expected during President Biden’s term suggests that preventing these cuts is more likely.
“The Medicare Payment Schedule released today alerts Congress to the fact that a nearly 4-percent across-the board reduction in payment rates will be a grave reality if lawmakers don’t act before January 1st,” Jack Resneck Jr., President, American Medical Association. In a statement. “The rate cuts would create immediate financial instability in the Medicare physician payment system and threaten patient access to Medicare-participating physicians.”
Payments to providers decrease as Medicare pays less for certain services. Shalgain stated that this is because private insurance companies use Medicare’s frame of reference and offer to pay “100%” or “110% of Medicare” for certain services. Private providers can also offer cash if Medicare payments drop.
“And as that Medicare Number goes down, you won’t be able to see as many Medicare Patients,” he stated.
Bipartisan efforts to pay more doctors
However, Republicans remain staunchly opposed in general to Medicare funding increases as demonstrated by the Republican Study Committee. Budget for fiscal year 2023Paying doctors more is a common area where Congress can reach a bipartisan compromise.
Cote wants to see that letter, which was released by 46 senators (including Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Rand Paul, and Republicans like Rand Paul), asking congressional leadership for a solution to the impending fee schedule cut before the end.
The senators wrote that it was crucial in the weeks ahead to ensure providers have the resources needed to continue their doors for seniors and their families. This letter was sent one day after the announcement of the cuts. “We are supporting bipartisan, long-term Medicare payment reforms in a fiscally responsible way.
Republicans and Democrats are frequently at odds over entitlement programs like Medicare or Social Security. With the GOP seeking to reduce government spending, both sides will be fighting. Insider learned that the bipartisan effort by both parties to prevent cuts is incompatible with the Republicans’ current long term plan for the program. Mary Johnson, Senior Citizens’ League’s Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, stated that this was contrary to the Republican’s current long-term plan. The Republican budget will dramatically cut spending on Medicare for new beneficiaries by more than $2,200 per person per year starting in 2030, for instance, and by $8,000 in 2050, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Shalgain stated, “We don’t know what they’re going to do this Year.” “If the cut goes in effect, we’ll be standing on the steps at Congress on January 2nd asking them to reverse it retroactively.”
