The sequestration budget cuts are here. And health care plans and drug plans will be reduced by 2% starting April 1.
March 1 has come and gone, but with no life-saving action from Congress to avoid $85 billion in federal spending cuts known as the sequester.
The 2% Medicare cut will affect physicians, hospitals, health care providers, health plans, and prescription drug plans, but will have no direct effect on Medicare beneficiaries. "Our lawmakers have failed to act, and Medicare patients and physicians will now feel real pain in the form of new cuts that come at an already difficult time for the nation's economy," AMA President Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD, said in a statement issued on March 1.
Although the 2% cut may not seem large if compared to the reductions in other federal agencies, physicians say it will still have a huge impact. “The across-the-board cut will hit physicians particularly hard because of the fundamentally flawed Medicare physician payment system. Since 2001 Medicare payments for physician services have only increased by four percent, while the cost of caring for patients has gone up by more than 20 percent. A two percent cut widens the already enormous gap between what Medicare pays and the actual cost of caring for seniors,” said Dr. Lazarus.
The present cuts could make it difficult for patients to get care, Lazarus said. “Physicians continue to face drastic cuts from the SGR, and an additional two percent cut coming from sequestration further threatens access to care for patients and prevents needed improvements in Medicare.”
"It’s a very difficult time to plan your practice and plan hiring new employees because you don’t understand what you’re going to be getting paid and what you can afford," said Dr. David L. Bronson, president of the American College of Physicians.
Other Medicare cuts
Federal law already triggers Medicare cuts every year to keep the program financially sound. As most practices would be aware, Congress has stepped in a number of times to eliminate those cuts. Congress voted earlier this year to eliminate a 27 per cent Medicare payment cut that was supposed to kick in for 2012. Even without the 27 per cent reduction, total Medicare reimbursements for many practices in 2013 have fallen at least 2 to 3 per cent from last year based on changes in the 2013 relative value units (RVUs).
March 1 has come and gone, but with no life-saving action from Congress to avoid $85 billion in federal spending cuts known as the sequester.
The 2% Medicare cut will affect physicians, hospitals, health care providers, health plans, and prescription drug plans, but will have no direct effect on Medicare beneficiaries. "Our lawmakers have failed to act, and Medicare patients and physicians will now feel real pain in the form of new cuts that come at an already difficult time for the nation's economy," AMA President Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD, said in a statement issued on March 1.
Although the 2% cut may not seem large if compared to the reductions in other federal agencies, physicians say it will still have a huge impact. “The across-the-board cut will hit physicians particularly hard because of the fundamentally flawed Medicare physician payment system. Since 2001 Medicare payments for physician services have only increased by four percent, while the cost of caring for patients has gone up by more than 20 percent. A two percent cut widens the already enormous gap between what Medicare pays and the actual cost of caring for seniors,” said Dr. Lazarus.
The present cuts could make it difficult for patients to get care, Lazarus said. “Physicians continue to face drastic cuts from the SGR, and an additional two percent cut coming from sequestration further threatens access to care for patients and prevents needed improvements in Medicare.”
"It’s a very difficult time to plan your practice and plan hiring new employees because you don’t understand what you’re going to be getting paid and what you can afford," said Dr. David L. Bronson, president of the American College of Physicians.
Other Medicare cuts
Federal law already triggers Medicare cuts every year to keep the program financially sound. As most practices would be aware, Congress has stepped in a number of times to eliminate those cuts. Congress voted earlier this year to eliminate a 27 per cent Medicare payment cut that was supposed to kick in for 2012. Even without the 27 per cent reduction, total Medicare reimbursements for many practices in 2013 have fallen at least 2 to 3 per cent from last year based on changes in the 2013 relative value units (RVUs).
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