Managed Care - June 2008 - (Page 23) COMPENSATION MONITOR Medicare to cut physician pay — maybe The bipartisan attempt to work out an agreement to fix the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services physician payment schedule has fallen apart. This means that physician payments will be cut 10.6 percent on July 1 and probably another 5 percent or more on Jan. 1, 2009. “This would be the second time that Congress failed to step in to freeze the payment schedule,” says Julius W. Hobson Jr., a senior policy adviser at Powell Goldstein and a former director of the American Medical Association’s division of congressional affairs. The first time Congress did not step in was right after 9/11. Understandably, Congress’s focus was not on CMS cuts back then. And since many third-party payers peg their payments to what CMS pays, a physician “would have ended up with a 30 percent reduction in payments across the board,” says Hobson. Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, have publicly committed to passing a fix, including retroactive compensation. However, it probably won’t be in time for the June 30 deadline, putting most physicians in an administrative bind if they try to go back and collect. Many primary care physicians would then stop accepting new Medicare patients, says Hobson. “I think we’re going to see the start of access problems for seniors because the payment rates are too low.” They will end up in hospital emergency departments, which is what always happens, says Hobson. “That will put a strain on the system, and for managed care it means an increase in costs. It’s more expensive to receive treatment in the emergency department than in a physician’s office.” A great divide 50% 40% 30% Practice costs 20% 10% 0% −10% −20% Medicare cuts −30% −40% −50% 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Source: Adapted from the 2008 American Medical Association Medicare Physician Payment Action Kit .Medicare Economic Index. Physician payment updates are from the 2007 Medicare Trustees report with 2008 adjustments to reflect Sen. 101 of P.L. 110–173. JUNE 2008 / MANAGED CARE 23
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managed Care - June 2008 Managed Care - June 2008 Editor’s Memo Contents Viewpoint Letters News and Commentary Legislation & Regulation Medication Management Compensation Monitor Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD Smoke Signals from Payers Slow Going for Clinical Decision Support Back Pain and Physical Therapy Formulary Files PlanWatch Outlook Managed Care - June 2008 Managed Care - June 2008 - Managed Care - June 2008 (Page Cover1) Managed Care - June 2008 - Managed Care - June 2008 (Page Cover2) Managed Care - June 2008 - Managed Care - June 2008 (Page Cover3) Managed Care - June 2008 - Managed Care - June 2008 (Page Cover4) Managed Care - June 2008 - Managed Care - June 2008 (Page A) Managed Care - June 2008 - Managed Care - June 2008 (Page B) Managed Care - June 2008 - Editor’s Memo (Page 1) Managed Care - June 2008 - Contents (Page 2) Managed Care - June 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Managed Care - June 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Managed Care - June 2008 - Viewpoint (Page 5) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 6) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 7) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 8) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 9) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 10) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 11) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 12) Managed Care - June 2008 - Letters (Page 13) Managed Care - June 2008 - News and Commentary (Page 14) Managed Care - June 2008 - News and Commentary (Page 15) Managed Care - June 2008 - News and Commentary (Page 16) Managed Care - June 2008 - News and Commentary (Page 17) Managed Care - June 2008 - News and Commentary (Page 18) Managed Care - June 2008 - Legislation & Regulation (Page 19) Managed Care - June 2008 - Legislation & Regulation (Page 20) Managed Care - June 2008 - Medication Management (Page 21) Managed Care - June 2008 - Medication Management (Page 22) Managed Care - June 2008 - Compensation Monitor (Page 23) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 24) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 25) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 26) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 27) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 28) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 29) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 30) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 31) Managed Care - June 2008 - Plans Chart Course in Rough Waters (Page 32) Managed Care - June 2008 - A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD (Page 33) Managed Care - June 2008 - A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD (Page 34) Managed Care - June 2008 - A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD (Page 35) Managed Care - June 2008 - A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD (Page 36) Managed Care - June 2008 - A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD (Page 37) Managed Care - June 2008 - A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD (Page 38) Managed Care - June 2008 - A Conversation With Barbara Starfield, MD (Page 39) Managed Care - June 2008 - Smoke Signals from Payers (Page 40) Managed Care - June 2008 - Smoke Signals from Payers (Page 41) Managed Care - June 2008 - Smoke Signals from Payers (Page 42) Managed Care - June 2008 - Smoke Signals from Payers (Page 43) Managed Care - June 2008 - Slow Going for Clinical Decision Support (Page 44) Managed Care - June 2008 - Slow Going for Clinical Decision Support (Page 45) Managed Care - June 2008 - Slow Going for Clinical Decision Support (Page 46) Managed Care - June 2008 - Back Pain and Physical Therapy (Page 47) Managed Care - June 2008 - Back Pain and Physical Therapy (Page 48) Managed Care - June 2008 - Back Pain and Physical Therapy (Page 49) Managed Care - June 2008 - Formulary Files (Page 50) Managed Care - June 2008 - PlanWatch (Page 51) Managed Care - June 2008 - PlanWatch (Page 52) Managed Care - June 2008 - Outlook (Page 53) Managed Care - June 2008 - Outlook (Page 54)
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