Breaking News: Physicians are frustrated by the debate on cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates.
This excellent article asks real physicians what effect these pay cuts would have on their collections, their practice, and by proxy their patients and the healthcare industry as a whole. (via Kaiser Health News)
Spoiler Alert: It’s not pretty.
Our Thoughts
Medicare enrollment and the subsequent debacle over reimbursement rates are a delicate subject for physicians. That’s because payments from Medicare make up a large chunk of many providers’ total collections, and any cut in the reimbursement rates would translate directly into an immediate decrease in income. This issue has been simmering for years, and it’s no wonder that physicians across America are becoming fatigued by the sheer hassle of it: They belong to one of the few professions whose rate of compensation is a subject of national debate.
For many of us in the industry, it almost seems like Medicare rates can face the Congressional budget-axe on a dozen different occasions between the time it takes to submit a claim and the time it takes to collect payment. In fact, the uncertainty of the whole matter is one of the top three challenges physicians face in their work, and there has been plenty of doomsaying going on. Luckily, there are some good people around the ‘net working to shed some light on the issue by making sure physicians themselves get a say in the matter, and we want to help make sure their voices are heard.
Your Thoughts?
Are the impending cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates keeping you up at night? We’d love to hear what you think, so let us know how you feel in the comments section below!
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