GOVERNMENTMedicare reimbursement frozen; focus returns to pay formulaA White House plan for a new level of Medicare austerity could make physician payment reform a tough sell.By David Glendinning, amednews staff. Feb. 20, 2006. Washington -- No sooner had Congress written the final chapter on Medicare physician payments for 2006 when a new book, fraught with even more budgetary uncertainty, opened for 2007. The House christened its new legislative year by approving a measure left over from the previous session that restores doctors' reimbursements to last year's levels, paving the way for President Bush to sign the bill. Congress ran out of time at the end of last year to approve the rate freeze, which erases a 4.4% cut that went into effect Jan. 1. Most physicians will not need to do anything special to receive the payments to which they are now entitled. Medicare carriers will be instructed to adjust retroactively any claims they already have processed this year and reimburse doctors for the difference. Doctors will need to bill some secondary insurers to get the money they are owed if the plans don't automatically reprocess the claims. But an estimated 4.6% cut looms on the horizon for 2007, and physicians already are falling behind when it comes to keeping up with their expenses. While Medicare payments will remain static for the year, the costs of running a practice continue to rise. "Today's congressional action stops this year's Medicare physician payment cut, but reimbursements still fall short of the cost of providing care to seniors," AMA President J. Edward Hill, MD, said after final passage of the rate freeze. "We must build on the momentum and awareness raised in 2005 to make 2006 the year Congress permanently repeals the broken Medicare physician payment formula." [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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