CMS Announces 2004 Cut of 4.5% in Medicare's Physician Reimbursements
CAL/AAEM News Service
pottsbri@yahoo.com
Tue, 4 Nov 2003 16:24:36 -0800 (PST)
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-----Original Message-----
From: California Healthline [mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM]
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 10:01 AM
CMS Announces 2004 Cut of 4.5% in Medicare's Physician Reimbursements
10/31/2003
<http://www.cms.gov/> CMS Administrator Tom Scully on Thursday announced that the agency will reduce Medicare's physician reimbursements by 4.5% in 2004, the http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/oct/30/103006426.html?scully AP/Las Vegas Sun reports (Sherman, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 10/30). In March, Bush administration officials announced that the provider payment cut for 2004 would likely be 4.2%, despite a provision in the 2003 omnibus spending package that provided $54 million over 10 years to avoid such cuts. That law also blocked a proposed 4.4% reduction for 2003 ( http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=48291&collectionid=3&program=1 California Healthline, 3/26). Scully said that the 2004 cut will be higher than the forecasted 4.2% because CMS is legally required to follow the current payment formula, which is based on actual Medicare spending, the rate of medical inflation and economic growth. CMS will revise the formula nex!
t year to
"make it more reflective of doctors' costs," according to agency officials, the AP/Sun reports. The <http://www.ama-assn.org/> American Medical Association said the cut will make physicians reluctant to accept new Medicare beneficiaries. AMA President Dr. Donald Palmisano said physicians are already limiting their number of new Medicare patients because reimbursements do not match service costs. He added that the new reimbursement cuts will exacerbate the problem and "make it even harder for seniors to get the health care they need." The cuts come amid negotiations to reconcile the House and Senate Medicare bills ( <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:h.r.1:> HR 1 and <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:s.1:> S 1); the House bill would cancel reimbursement reductions for 2004 and 2005 and boost physician payments by 1.5% (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 10/30).
Brian Potts
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service
MS-IV, UC-Irvine
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<P>-----Original Message-----</P>
<P>From: California Healthline [</FONT><A href="mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>] </P>
<P>Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 10:01 AM</P>
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<P></P>
<P>CMS Announces 2004 Cut of 4.5% in Medicare's Physician Reimbursements </P>
<P>10/31/2003 </P>
<P><</FONT><A href="http://www.cms.gov/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.cms.gov/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>> CMS Administrator Tom Scully on Thursday announced that the agency will reduce Medicare's physician reimbursements by 4.5% in 2004, the </FONT><A href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/oct/30/10300642"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><A href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/oct/30/103006426.html?scully">http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/oct/30/10300642</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>6.html?scully</A> AP/Las Vegas Sun reports (Sherman, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 10/30). In March, Bush administration officials announced that the provider payment cut for 2004 would likely be 4.2%, despite a provision in the 2003 omnibus spending package that provided $54 million over 10 years to avoid such cuts. That law also blocked a proposed 4.4% reduction for 2003 ( </FONT><A
href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=4"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><A href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=48291&collectionid=3&program=1">http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=4</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>8291&collectionid=3&program=1</A> California Healthline, 3/26). Scully said that the 2004 cut will be higher than the forecasted 4.2% because CMS is legally required to follow the current payment formula, which is based on actual Medicare spending, the rate of medical inflation and economic growth. CMS will revise the formula next year to "make it more reflective of doctors' costs," according to agency officials, the AP/Sun reports. The <</FONT><A href="http://www.ama-assn.org/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.ama-assn.org/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>> American Medical Association said the cut will make physicians reluctant to acc!
ept new
Medicare beneficiaries. AMA President Dr. Donald Palmisano said physicians are already limiting their number of new Medicare patients because reimbursements do not match service costs. He added that the new reimbursement cuts will exacerbate the problem and "make it even harder for seniors to get the health care they need." The cuts come amid negotiations to reconcile the House and Senate Medicare bills ( <</FONT><A href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:h.r.1:"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:h.r.1:</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>> HR 1 and <</FONT><A href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:s.1:"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:s.1:</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>> S 1); the House bill would cancel reimbursement reductions for 2004 and 2005 and boost physician payments by 1.5% (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 10/30). </P></FONT></DIV><BR><BR><STRONG>Brian Potts <BR>Managing Editor, C!
AL/AAEM
News Service</STRONG> <BR>MS-IV, UC-Irvine<p><hr SIZE=1>
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