Impeding changes to our Health Care system

[TheMercenary]

Medicare fix would push health care into the red

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional budget scorekeepers say a Medicare fix that Democrats included in earlier versions of their health care bill would push it into the red.

The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that rolling back a programmed cut in Medicare fees to doctors would cost $208 billion over 10 years. If added back to the health care overhaul bill, it would wipe out all the deficit reduction, leaving the legislation $59 billion in the red.

The so-called doc fix was part of the original House bill. Because of its high cost, Democrats decided to pursue it separately. Republicans say the cost should not be ignored. Congress has usually waived the cuts to doctors year by year.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Medica....html?x=0&.v=2

Each year Congress votes to delay the cuts to Medicare. I wonder if they are finally going to do it or if they will feel the pain of making the cuts and risk their jobs and positions of power if they do finally make the cuts. Many Docs would end up closing up shop and office doors if the cuts go through.

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Each year Congress votes to delay the cuts to Medicare. I wonder if they are finally going to do it or if they will feel the pain of making the cuts and risk their jobs and positions of power if they do finally make the cuts. Many Docs would end up closing up shop and office doors if the cuts go through.

I don't see Docs as having to close up shop if the cuts go through. Many doctors right now refuse to accept Medicaid/Medicare patients and they are not going out of business by a long shot. I have to travel 10 miles to a rural clinic in the town adjacent to mine, because its the only outfit in this area that accepts Medicaid. Cuts to Medicare are going to hurt patients far more than they will doctors.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by SamIam

I don't see Docs as having to close up shop if the cuts go through. Many doctors right now refuse to accept Medicaid/Medicare patients and they are not going out of business by a long shot. I have to travel 10 miles to a rural clinic in the town adjacent to mine, because its the only outfit in this area that accepts Medicaid. Cuts to Medicare are going to hurt patients far more than they will doctors.

I think it depends greatly on what we call payer mix. For the people who don't accept medicare it may have a minimal impact but it will impact them eventually. As goes medicare so goes a lot of insurance companies. Many of them follow their rates closely and adjust them accordingly. For those who struggle by on a shoestring budget it may not affect them either, because they are already barely making it by with little overhead. But they can't just add more and more people and make up the difference either, there is only so much time in the day and the FP's I know work pretty long hours already and most are not accepting any new medicare/caid patients at all, none. But for those with a more usual mix of patients, like 40/60, with the 60% being Medicare, they will take a huge hit in those cuts. Ideally to be profitable it is better to be 60/40 and no less because it is a money losing model. Time will tell. As I said back at the beginning of this mess, be careful what you wish for, I think there are going to be a lot of unintended consequences of this bill if it passes they way they are Rhaming it through on reconciliation and procedural by-pass.

[xoxoxoBruce]

[SamIam]

Palin's constituents strike again.