With Healthcare Reform stalled, there is still a major issue one month away. . .Physicians who see Medicare Patients, in the absence of Congressional Action, will see a 21% drop in their reimbursement starting March 1st, 2010.
The fix is estimated to cost $210 Billion over 10 years. Generally, Congress includes a fix for just the following year. MIPPA 2008 fixed the fee schedule for 2009. The Fee Schedule was fixed for 2 additional months in the Defense Appropriations bill passed late last year. Now the clock is running out again.
I’m surprised we haven’t heard more from the AMA. I was expecting to see something tied to Medicare Advantage cuts, but apparently this money is needed for other Comprehensive Health Care Reform. It could be added to the deficit, but the Senate rejected that approach last year.
If the “fix” is expected to cost $210 billion, then let’s leave it alone. I for one don’t want to spend $210 billion to “fix” it and I suspect there are plenty of other like me out there.