AMA Says Physician Survey Finds Medicare Payment Cuts Will Affect Access and Care
June 11th, 2007
Sixty percent of physicians in a recent survey said they would limit the number of new Medicare patients they treat if a scheduled 10% payment cut goes into effect January 1, the American Medical Association (AMA) said June 4.
The survey of nearly 9,000 physicians comes as the AMA is gearing up for a national campaign urging Congress to intervene once again and block the projected cut. The AMA said Congress instead should require a 1.7% payment update in line with Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommendations.
According to the AMA, under the current formula, Medicare payments to physicians are expected to decline by 40% over the next nine years, while at the same time physicians face a 20% increase in practice costs.
The AMA warned that this disparity would be unsustainable for many physicians and mean significant access problems just as the Medicare population swells with the addition of the nation’s baby boomers.
According to the survey, 77% of physician respondents said they would be forced to accept fewer new Medicare patients if payment rates decline as much as currently forecast by 2015.
Established Medicare patients also could see access problems, the survey found. Forty percent of physicians said they planned to limit the number of established Medicare patients they treat if the 10% cut goes into effect, while 68% of physicians said they would do so over the nine-year period.
The survey also found Medicare payment cuts would affect physicians’ overall practices, with more than two-thirds indicating they would, among other things, defer buying new equipment and acquiring information technology. Roughly eight in ten physicians said they would forego these investments should the payment reductions hit the 40% mark by 2015.
Physician respondents further indicated other practice changes could be on the horizon with the looming cuts, including staffing reductions (54% in 2008, rising to 77% by 2015).
Over the last several years, Congress has stepped in to prevent scheduled cuts. For 2007, Congress provided a zero percent update in the physician fee schedule, freezing rates at 2006 levels.
“Congress needs to take a long, hard look at how Medicare cuts affect seniors who rely on the program for health care, and all patients who rightfully expect high quality care,” said AMA Board Chair Cecil B. Wilson, MD.
Entry Filed under: News