Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
File under “least shocking development of the day”: The American Medical Association opposes cuts to physician salaries. In a letter on Monday, the AMA stated that it expreses: …strong support for the “SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014” (H.R. 4015/S. 2000)…Previous Congresses have spent more than $150 billion over the past…
Kaiser Health News reports: The House GOP leadership’s agreement to a Senate proposal averts a 27 percent paycut to doctors scheduled to take effect in January. The deal delays the cut until March 1, and lawmakers hope to hammer out an agreement on a longer-term fix to the payment formula before then. As I previously noted,…
The Healthcare Economist is going on vacation for the next week. In the meantime, I pose to you, my reader, a bet. Do you think the ‘doc fix’ gets passed? Before you read on, make your predictions in the comments section below. Healthcare Economist’s Prediction
In 1998, Medicare enacted the sustainable growth rate (SGR) which would slowly bring down Medicare physician compensation. However, each year, it gets reversed by Congress. Now, instead of a gradual decline, the implementation of SGR would result in a 21.2% pay cut for Medicare docs. Before the Thanksgiving holiday, however, Congress once again reversed the…