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Medicare fix will mean increase for physicians
Congressional measure, passed in February as part of appropriations package, will avert planned 4.4% cut.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Physicians bracing for a 4.4% cut in Medicare reimbursement payments this month will instead see a moderate increase of 1.6%, under a congressional measure passed in mid-February.
H.J. Res. 2, a $397.4 billion omnibus FY 2003 appropriations package, will increase physician payments by $54 billion over the next 10 years, according to officials.
“This is good news for Medicare patients and the physicians who care for them,” American Medical Association President Yank D. Coble Jr., MD, said in a press release.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas, R-Calif., introduced the legislation to nullify the 2003 Medicare fee schedule and freeze fees at 2002 rates.
Seeking permanent fix
Several medical organizations have been pushing for a final agreement on 2003 rates and a permanent fix to the Medicare physician payment formula, especially after going through a 5.4% cut last year.
“It’s hard to explain just how critical this legislation is,” said Bruce W. Fye, MD, American College of Cardiology president. “We’re seeing a growing erosion in access to quality care, in part, because Medicare reimbursement is not keeping pace with practice costs. This legislation, if nothing else, will help to restore some stability to a health care infrastructure that’s been under very significant stress.”
The fee schedule is based on a calculation methodology specified by law, according to a Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services statement published in the Federal Register. The Congressional action was required under the current legal framework to change the reimbursement levels.
Thomas A. Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), had said earlier that the administration was willing to work with all the medical organizations “to find a budget-neutral way to ensure that physicians receive appropriate payment for Medicare services, this year and in the future.”
“America’s seniors should not pay for the government’s mistakes, and we are pleased that both Congress and President Bush recognized that and will stop the Medicare cuts for 2003 and fix past mistakes,” Coble said.
The formula for determining physician fees uses the sustainable growth rate, which is calculated based on changes in the economy, total cost of all physician services in previous years, the number of Medicare beneficiaries in fee-for-service medicine and other lesser factors.
The physician payment error was the result of mistakes made in 1998 and 1999, when the administration underestimated the nation’s gross domestic product and omitted the cost of medical care for 1 million seniors, the AMA said.
Physicians and others have been pushing for a change to the Medicare formula, or, a rule change that would allow CMS to revise the flaws. The 10-year fix to the reimbursement schedule also gives CMS the authority to make those revisions.