Providers Pan Medicare Payments But Disagree About Alternatives
As doctors renew their long-standing calls to fix the troubled Medicare payment system, one might think they had an alternative in mind. Not the case, reports American Medical News: "While the majority of physicians agree that Medicare payments are inequitable and unfair, there is little consensus about how to reform the system, according to a study published in the Oct. 25 Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers examined survey responses from 1,222 physicians. Nearly 80% of respondents indicated that Medicare payments are unsatisfactory. Among doctors who accepted Medicare, 40% 'strongly agreed' and 38% 'somewhat agreed' that under Medicare some procedures are compensated too highly and others are compensated at rates insufficient to cover costs" (Silva, 11/9).
Also in Medicare payment news, McKnight's Long-Term Care News reports, "Another long-term care organization took a swing at the new multiple procedure payment reduction policy, which affects Medicare beneficiaries in skilled nursing and post-acute care facilities. Cynthia Morton, executive vice president of the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care, said this policy will hurt some of the nation's most vulnerable people" (10/11).