The budget package that Congress passed in the 11th hour Tuesday to avert widespread tax increases and spending cuts has also blocked a 26.5% cut in Medicare payments to doctors; however, hospitals are bearing a large portion of the responsibility when it comes to financing this so-called doc fix.
The budget package that Congress passed in the 11th hour Tuesday to avert widespread tax increases and spending cuts has also blocked a 26.5% cut in Medicare payments to doctors; however, hospitals are bearing a large portion of the responsibility when it comes to financing this so-called “doc fix.”
As Kaiser Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey writes in her column, the bill requires hospitals to pay about half of the approximately $30 billion cost of stopping the 26.5% payment cut for Medicare physicians, a reduction that stems from a payment formula created in 1997 deficit reduction law.
Westby G. Fisher, MD, details the healthcare cuts that are taking place in order to accomplish the 1-year patch of $25 billion over the next 10 years. In short, hospitals will undergo more audits of their billings to recoup overcoding charges and will also “see an extension of lower Medicaid payments to hospitals that treat a high number of uninsured or low-income beneficiaries, known as ‘disproportionate share hospitals.’”
Needless to say, hospital leaders are not pleased with the decision. Chip Kahn, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, stated his displeasure by saying that “it is not in the best interest of patients or those who care for them to rob hospital Peter to pay for fiscal cliff Paul.” Louise Radnofsky of the Wall Street Journal reports that many hospitals are calling the bill a “raid on their funding, which has already been subject to cuts in the healthcare overhaul.” Shawn Gremminger, a lobbyist for the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, also voiced his concern, saying that “this is yet another time when hospitals have borne the brunt” and added that “it’s a fairly significant hit.” And Sean Hopkins, Senior Vice President of the New Jersey Hospital Association, pointed out that “hospital Medicare payments continue to be viewed as a big bucket you can take a little bit out of with without making a difference. But you can die a death of a thousand cuts.”
Around the Web
‘Doc Fix’ In ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Plan Cuts Medicare Hospital Payments [Kaiser Health News]
Cliff Deal Irks Hospitals [Wall Street Journal]
The Fix that Failed [The Health Care Blog]
Hospitals to Eat Medicare Budget's 'Doc Fix' [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
Listen
HMO and EPO Insurance Plans More Likely to Promote Use of Biosimilars
November 21st 2023Health plan type highly influences the likelihood of biosimilar uptake, with low-flexibility insurance plans more likely to have patients who either switched to a biosimilar or were initiated on a biosimilar.
Read More
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Dr Debra Patt of Texas Oncology
August 1st 2023Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for episode 2 of our newest podcast, "Oncology Onward: Conversations With Innovators and Changemakers in Cancer Care."
Listen
Therapists’ Perspectives on Access to Telemental Health Among Medicaid-Enrolled Youth
November 10th 2023This qualitative study elucidates therapists’ perspectives on barriers to and facilitators of access to telemental health among Medicaid-enrolled youth served by a large safety-net organization.
Read More