Utah Physicians Rally Congress for Higher Medicare Reimbursements

None by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Utah physicians are in the nation's capitol this week to press Congress to reverse a looming cut in Medicare reimbursement rates. Utah Medical Association President Dr. Mark Bair says the reduction could limit health care options for thousands of seniors and veterans.

"Under current reimbursements, it's difficult for providers to even meet the simple cost of providing care in the offices for the Medicare patients," Bair says. "With another 12 percent cut in July, it will make it so difficult that in a recent AMA study, nearly 60 percent of the physicians studied said they would limit or reduce their Medicare patients."

Utah has 225,000 Medicare recipients and 65,000 Utahns enrolled in the U.S. military's Tri-Care program, Bair says. Physicians have already scaled back treating these patients, he says, because the federal reimbursement to treat them doesn't cover the actual cost of their visit. He says the government uses a flawed formula to determine these reimbursement rates. And, he says, the problem will only get worse. The baby boomer generation becomes eligible for Medicaid coverage in 2010. Bair and his colleagues in the American Medical Association are urging Congress to pass a bill that would temporarily boost Medicaid reimbursements.

"There's a bill before us, it's Senate Bill 2785 put out by Senator Stabenow. What that would do is at least give some relief from the cliff reduction we're looking at in July. That would give about a 1.8 percent increase at least for the next 18 months. Time enough for a new  President, a new administration, new congress to come in and deal with this issue again."

Bair says the AMA needs the public's support to convince Congress to address the problem. More information about the pending Medicare cut and Senate Bill 2785 is available here.

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