CMS Estimates Medicare Physician Payment Cuts, Outlines Cost-Containment Steps

The debate continues and everyone is watching to see what Congress will do...BD

CMS estimates that Medicare payments to physicians will decline by 10.6% below current levels on July 1 and by 15.4% below current levels on Jan. 1, 2009, under the current payment formula, CQ HealthBeat reports. The estimates were released on Friday in a letter from Jeffrey Rich, director of the CMS Center for Medicare Management, to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. The cuts reflect an increase in the volume of services provided by physicians that exceeds growth targets. " Nielsen said that if the 10.6% cut goes into effect on July 1, about 60% of physicians say they will have to limit how many new Medicare beneficiaries they can treat, and more than half say they will have to reduce office staff.

CMS Estimates Medicare Physician Payment Cuts, Outlines Cost-Containment Steps