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Determining you Financial Share on “TAX DAY”
[By Staff Reporters]
One of the most-onerous votes in recent years on Capitol Hill is the so-called “doc fix.” That’s the patch Congress re-ups periodically to make sure that seniors on Medicare continue to receive medical care.
If Congress doesn’t cough up a chunk of change for the doc fix, doctors who treat Medicare recipients could experience an abrupt 21 percent reduction in their federal reimbursement – and would likely stop taking those patients.
In late March, the House approved a permanent replacement for the doc fix.
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Click here to see your share of the Medicare doc fix
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A solution has eluded lawmakers for years
In fact lawmakers tinkered with this particular Medicare payment method some 17 times since 1997. That’s when the amount of money the federal government had available to pay doctors started to dip into the red. So in order to make sure physicians were paid and seniors didn’t lose benefits, Congress engineered a short-term –but expensive– Band-Aid to cover the difference.
Assessment
Hence the name, the “doc fix.”
Conclusion
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Filed under: Breaking News, Career Development, Health Economics | Tagged: "Doc Fix", “Doc-Fix” Taxpayer Calculator, SGR |
The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants 
‘Doc Fix’ Bill Makes Things Worse, Medicare Analysis Finds
Proponents of the “doc fix” legislation the House passed before Congress’s Easter recess have argued that it would permanently solve the perennial issue of physician reimbursements in Medicare. But an analysis by Medicare’s non-partisan actuary all but cautions: “Not so fast, my friends!”
The estimate of the legislation’s long-term impacts by Medicare’s chief actuary is sober reading. The legislation provides for a bonus pool that physicians can qualify for over the next 10 years but applies only in 2019 to 2024. The budgetary “out-years” provide for minimal increases in reimbursement rates.
Beginning in 2026, physicians would receive a 0.75 percent annual increase if they participate in some alternative payment models or a 0.25 percent annual increase if they do not. Both are significantly lower than the normal rate of inflation.
Source: Chris Jacobs, Wall Street Journal [4/13/15]
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Historic vote for physician group practices
“This is a historic day–the dark cloud over physician group practices has been lifted. The Senate vote to permanently repeal the SGR returns stability to physicians and Medicare patients alike. MGMA congratulates Congress on this momentous, bipartisan achievement.”
Halee Fischer-Wright MD MMM FAAP
[MGMA President and CEO]
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