Senate Does Not Block Medicare Pay Cut Before Recess

[bluerum]

Did anyone catch this at ALL? The blurb says that the vote was Thursday. Clearly a stealth move.

Medicare doctors pay is cut 10%
Senate fails to block Medicare doctors pay cut
House Passes Bill To Postpone Cut In Medicare Doctors Pay

Washington (ChattahBox) - On Thursday, Senate Democrats came short of blocking a planned 10% pay cut to Medicare doctors. This came just after the House had passed the bill.

A 10% pay cut is set to go into effect on July 1, which will cut the Medicare payments to doctors, and could result in problems for Medicare patients.

The vote came in on Thursday night, just before the week-long Fourth of July recess planned.

Republican minority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky offered a 30-day extension of the current law which was turned down by Harry Reid,

If this ever passes both houses, the quality of Medicare will go down and the availability of health care for seniors will be lowered. This is happening at a time when baby boomers are going to be needing more and more medical care.

What are these people doing? This is insane. What possible motivation can these people have for cutting off health services to the workforce that has carried them for 40 years? Is this anyway to run a country?

[MannyGoldstein]

1. The Good News Is That The Docs Are Blaming The Rethugs

I don't see why the quality of Medicare will drop, though. Docs still need to make a living, even if it's only $180k per year instead of $200k per year. It's pretty tough for most docs to turn down Medicare, since it represents the patients that use such a large chunk of the US's health care.

[Mojorabbit]

2. It will hurt us badly

My husband is already seeing an enormous amt of people for free and we have employees to pay plus mortgages, supplies, and malpractice insurance goes up every year. He is already bringing home boxes of sweet potatoes and tomatoes people are giving him in payment which is fine but it does not pay the office nor house mortgage.

[pinto]

3. Cutting Medicare reimbursement rates for MD's would be another nail in the coffin

for health care in the US. As it is, reimbursement rates are antiquated in relation to costs of doing business and blind, in their regional differences (i.e. 'rural' vs 'urban') to the changing nature of both regions.

[juajen]

4. Wrong, at least where I live. It is hard to find a doctor that

will see a medicare patient because they cannot make enough money now. Most see private patients only, no medicare. With this cut, it will be even more difficult.

[bluerum]

5. I would say, quality will suffer because of fewer doctors wanting to take medicare patients.

Also - newer doctors without a practice and less experience would be more likely to take on anyone who walks through the door.

A 10% cut is an insult. In what profession anywhere, do you expect a yearly 10% CUT in pay.

My sense is that the rethugs have an ax to grind with the medical community for not caving to the bUsh regime on various issues. Most likely the need for universal health care reform.

[cosmik debris]

6. So, elderly patients will have to use the ER instead of the GP.

That makes no sense at all. That is the LEAST efficient way to deliver medical care.

[chicagomd]

7. Easy politics...

Physicians are not exactly a sympathetic group when it comes to pay scales.

Although in a twisted way this might be a good thing in the long run:
-Cut payments for Medicare patients, therfore...
-Reduce access to physicians for those patients, therefore...
-Baby boomers get pissed about not being able to access health care and then...
-Push politicians to adopt universal healthcare!

Right now all it is going to do is force Medicare patients to the ED instead of the doctor. Which, incidentally, is going to drive up expenses at smaller community hospitals and squeeze them even more.