Intelligence Unit
Special Reports
Special Events
Subscribe
Sponsored
Departments
- Leadership
- Finance
- Technology
- Physicians
- Community Hospitals
- Health Plans
- Marketing
- Quality
- Nursing
- HR
Follow Us
AHA Lobbies Congress for 'Shared Sacrifice'
“A lot of people might not like the recommendations, but our membership has felt that we have to be responsible in suggesting alternative solutions to address the problems and it needs to be done in the framework of shared sacrifice, which we have already done a lot of on our own,” he says.
Last week, MedPAC ignored the AHA’s pleas and instead approved its plan to repeal the ineffective sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. In its place will be an equally controversial plan that will include, among other steps, cuts in reimbursement payments to specialists and frozen payments for primary care physicians.
The MedPAC proposal calls for a total of $335 billion in reimbursement reductions over 10 years. The plan’s “doc fix” would account for $100 billion. Specialists’ reimbursement rates would fall 5.9% each year for three years and then freeze for the following seven years. PCP reimbursements would be unchanged for the 10 years.
- Cuts to Medicare Part D drug plans (32%)
- Post–acute care facilities (21%)
- Medicare beneficiaries (14%)
- Hospitals (11%), labs (9%)
- Durable medical equipment (6%)
- Medicare Advantage plans (5%)
- Other providers (2%)
The Medicare commission has no authority beyond the recommendation, and Congress is free to ignore the findings, as it has for the last decade.
- CMS Seeks to 'Rapidly Reduce' Medicare Spending with $1B in Grants
- Building a Better Healthcare Board
- Patient Harm Data to Remain on Medicare's Hospital Compare Site
- Quiet ORs Better for Patient Safety
- Case Study: Advance Care Conversations
- Hard-Nosed About Physician Teamwork
- Tavenner Confirmed as CMS Administrator
- CMS Releases Hospital Pricing Data
- Hospital Pricing Data Dump Won't Hurt You, Yet
- Evidence-Based Practice and Nursing Research: Avoiding Confusion
Comments are moderated. Please be patient.
C Murphy (10/12/2011 at 8:22 AM)
As usual the only sharing is done by middle class and below. I've worked for 40 years. I'm tired and will never make it if the Medicare age is raised or SS is discontinued or reduced and thats with a 40 year pension. Is that the plan, just work us till we drop dead at our jobs so you don't have to pay out?