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Expert considers issues surrounding Medicare SGR
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At this time of year, the Medicare sustainable growth rate is weighing heavily on many physicians' minds.
Established in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the SGR was devised to control Medicare spending on physician services. Estimates vary, but 25% is quoted most commonly as the SGR cut in Medicare reimbursement that physicians will face Jan. 1. Each year, such double-digit percentage numbers are bandied about. And then, at the last minute, Congress comes up with a temporary “fix.” Will that happen this year? At the time of this writing, we don’t know.
Richard O. Dolinar
As stated in his Business of Endocrinology column, Richard O. Dolinar, MD, physicians are caught in a difficult balancing act:
"According to the American Medical Association, Medicare reimbursement rates have remained essentially flat since 2001, whereas practice costs rose by more than 20%. Given these financial realities and competing interests, what could possibly be said in letters and visits to Congress that would persuade them to stop further cuts in reimbursements and instead pay us more?"
Read this month's column to learn more and for further discussion of this issue.