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Medicare Reimbursement Cuts Affect You Too

July 15, 2008 by J.C.

With cuts in Medicare slated this year, physicians are once again being put between a rock and a hard place. Reimbursements continue to decrease for all medical services. Given that private insurance companies typically peg their reimbursement rates to those of Medicare, the current downtrend in physician reimbursement is making things difficult for physicians.

Some physicians are going out of their way to stop seeing Medicare patients. The reimbursement is so bad that, financially, the doctor is better off not seeing a Medicare patient because it takes so much time and there is so little financial reward. The concept of a “non-PAR” physician is starting to make its way into acceptance in the medical profession. Unfortunately this means that access to quality care will continue to decrease for patients.

Clearly, the system is broken. We as a country cannot afford the cost of taking care of our aging population. The government’s solution seems to be to continue cutting reimbursements. Most companies would try to grow revenue and manage their expenses. However, for the government, the only way to grow revenue is to raise taxes. In a non-election year, this is a difficult task. In an election year, it is impossible. Thus the government, in the form of its Medicare payer, continues to act in a recessionary mode – cut costs, slash expenses, and prepare for a downturn.

This is no way to run a business. This is no way to run the country. There are many proposals out there to increase revenues and meet the demand of the American consumer patient. One strong proposal asks patients to “buy in” to their own healthcare much like they buy into their retirement plan at work. They can contribute to a “health fund” that covers costs of their healthcare. In this manner physicians will get reimbursed at adequate rates and will have an incentive to treat Medicare patients.

Although this is only one proposal, it is one that increases the revenues of the government’s Medicare business. We cannot continue to keep cutting costs with no end in sight.