Deep Medicare Cuts Set to Take Effect Thursday, April 1, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew LaMar at (916) 551-2881
March 31, 2010
Deep Medicare Cuts Set to Take Effect Thursday
Senior citizens could face new obstacles to getting care, after payments are cut 21 percent
Sacramento — For the second time this year, Congress has failed to prevent deep cuts in Medicare reimbursements from taking effect, jeopardizing senior citizens’ access to healthcare.
On Thursday, April 1, 2010, a 21% cut in Medicare payments will kick in, forcing physicians to make tough decisions about whether to subsidize care, quit taking new Medicare patients, or drop out of the program altogether.
“Doctors are fed up with Congress and its inability to protect health care for senior citizens and provide ongoing stable funding for Medicare,” said Brennan Cassidy, MD, president of CMA. “It’s impossible for physicians to provide their senior patients any certainty if they themselves don’t know if they will be able to pay the bills month to month.”
The cuts are mandated by the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which Congress passed in 1997 but which has proved to be an inaccurate and outdated predictor of healthcare industry trends and costs. For years, the SGR has not kept pace with rising healthcare costs and ordered cuts in physician reimbursement rates, but Congress has stepped in to prevent the cuts.
This year, the cuts were originally scheduled for January 1, but Congress put them off to March 1, 2010, when they took effect for two days before Congress stepped in and delayed them again till Thursday, April 1, 2010.
The reductions in pay would mean many doctors would not be able to operate in the black when treating Medicare patients. As a consequence, physicians may opt to drop out of the program, making it tougher for seniors to find doctors who will treat them.
The California Medical Association is calling on Congress to reverse the Medicare cuts as soon as possible and has joined with the American Medical Association, AARP, and other groups representing seniors and physicians to demand immediate intervention.
“This is outrageously hypocritical,” Cassidy said. “On the one hand, Congress has dramatically expanded coverage by recently passing a historic overhaul of the healthcare system. On the other hand, it is taking away senior citizens’ access to care by failing to repeal the SGR and provide stable funding for Medicare.”
“Every senior and his or her doctor should contact their member of Congress today and demand action,” Cassidy said. “Healthcare reform means nothing if patients cannot get access to care.”
Congress adjourned for spring recess last week without voting to delay or block the cuts. It is not scheduled to return to work until April 12, 2010.
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The California Medical Association represents more than 35,000 physicians in all modes of practice and specialties. CMA is dedicated to the health of all patients in California.