At a minimum, Medicare must stop docking physician pay based on speculative claims of efficiency that do not reflect the realities of modern medical practice.
Many physicians received another pay cut this year, courtesy of Medicare.
Under the program’s new physician fee schedule, Medicare reimbursement for the vast majority of physician-provided services will effectively decline by 2.5%.
Medicare officials justify the change as an “efficiency adjustment.” The theory is that doctors have gotten more productive over time — and therefore do not need to be paid as much for each unit of work.
That conclusion is detached from reality. Medicare has underpaid physicians for years. Further cuts will only make timely, high-quality medical care harder to come by.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Medicare’s ‘efficiency’ cut will reduce access, not costs
Sally C. Pipes
At a minimum, Medicare must stop docking physician pay based on speculative claims of efficiency that do not reflect the realities of modern medical practice.
Many physicians received another pay cut this year, courtesy of Medicare.
Under the program’s new physician fee schedule, Medicare reimbursement for the vast majority of physician-provided services will effectively decline by 2.5%.
Medicare officials justify the change as an “efficiency adjustment.” The theory is that doctors have gotten more productive over time — and therefore do not need to be paid as much for each unit of work.
That conclusion is detached from reality. Medicare has underpaid physicians for years. Further cuts will only make timely, high-quality medical care harder to come by.
Read the op-ed in Medical Economics.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.