First They Came for the Doctors……
And I said nothing. Then they came for the drug manufacturers …… and I said nothing. And then they came for me ….. and no one shed a tear.
The American Hospital Association said Tuesday it was “deeply disappointed” by an Obama administration proposal to cut Medicare payments for acute-care hospitals by 0.5 percent next year…… The trade group says a new proposed rule penalizes hospitals because it wrongly assumes that per-patient spending has increased as a result of coding changes rather than hospitals’ treatment of more complex and severely ill patients. The rule also increases Medicare payments for long-term-care hospitals by 1.9 percent.
Full article on hospitals’ reaction to the Medicare payment cut.
Many the trade associations thought they could cut a deal with the proponents of the PPACA. They should have known better. The funding mechanism for the PPACA is a laundry list of taxes and fees. These include a new tax on drugs, insurer tax, physician fee cut, IPAB, DishPro payment cut, tax on tanning salons, reducing Medicare fees to Medicaid levels by decade’s end. Virtually every aspect of the health care industry faces taxes or fees. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that any of the PPACA’s policies will introduce competition or boost efficiency.
I like your intro.
All these people sold out. Now they are getting shafted. Hard to feel sorry for them.
Maybe the hospitals should stop “Up-Coding.”
This actually happened to me during a routine 6 month check-up cancer screening. I was sent to a different facility than normal due to my oncologist’s insistence for a second opinion. All the new Head/Neck surgeon did was feel all around my throat by hand and placed a 6 inch scope into my mouth to observe my throat/tongue/vocal cords etc for healing. They considered that a surgery and coded it as such for reimbursement from my insurance carrier. My previous radiation doctor did this exact same procedure numerous times and never charged it as a surgery.
My reaction to Erik’s comment is this: In a third party reimbursement system the incentive of every provider is to maximize against the reimbursement formulas.
Remember, when they sell out, they are selling all the rest of us out.
Tom,
It is called fraud.
Against me due to a higher out of pocket costs and the insurance company for services not rendered.
This doctor was simply a thief in a white coat.
All of the Washington-based trade associations hire Capitol Hill staffers to represent them. These staffers know nothing about the industries they are paid to represent and care even less. Their sole object is to maintain friendships on the Hill and in the Administration for future professional opportunities. Why should we be surprised that they sell out the very people who are paying them?
Thats not good news for doctor.. Good step taken by obama administration to cut down some Payments…
Regards,
Cliff Merchant MD