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Congress scrambles to trim amount of Medicare pay cut

Bills would reduce the cut in Medicare payments to doctors from 5.4% to 0.9%.

By Markian Hawryluk, amednews staff. Dec. 17, 2001.

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Washington -- With less than a month remaining before a 5.4% cut in physician Medicare payments is scheduled to take effect, congressional leaders are striving to bring to a vote a pair of bills that would limit the reduction.

In late November, key members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled the Medicare Physician Payment Fairness Act. The bill would limit the reduction in Medicare physician payment to 0.9%. It also would require the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on Medicare issues, to suggest ways to modify or replace the formula in time for the 2003 update.

"This study allows Congress time to examine the current payment methodology, review the recommendation of MedPAC and take action next year to create a physician reimbursement system under Medicare that more appropriately accounts for changes in the cost of physician services," said Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R, Fla.), chair of the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee and the primary sponsor of the bill.

At press time, the measure had already garnered 99 co-sponsors and the support of a host of physician groups, including the American Medical Association.

AMA President Richard F. Corlin, MD, said the bill was essential to ensuring access to physician services for Medicare beneficiaries, particularly given the demands placed on doctors by Medicare.

"If you take into account the increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries and advancing technology, we're not even keeping pace with that," Dr. Corlin said. "We're really looking at a circumstance where the amount of money available for care per senior citizen in real constant dollars is going down. And that's a situation that's inappropriate, and we applaud [Congress'] efforts to try to get it stopped." [...]