September 2002 • Volume 8 • Number 9 |
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"This is a massive health care crisis in the making," AAFP President Warren Jones, M.D., of Ridgeland, Miss., said in the July 25 USA Today regarding a key finding of the AAFP's latest practice profile survey. Results of the study, released July 24, show a 28 percent hike in the number of family physicians who no longer take new Medicare patients, compared with the number the previous year.
Bloomberg Newswire ran a story about the survey the same day the results were announced. The following day, USA Today noted the survey findings on the cover of its "Money" section.
The survey, conducted in June 2002, found that 21.7 percent of FPs reported they could no longer take new Medicare patients, a significant increase from the previous year's figure of 17 percent.
The blame lies with low Medicare reimbursement, says Jones. "I've talked to many physicians who tell me that this year's Medicare payment cuts mean they just can't afford to keep their doors open and take more Medicare patients."
Deborah Haynes, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., a past AAFP director, is one FP who had to stop taking new Medicare patients. "The costs associated with treating them are increasing, while our reimbursement continues to go down," she says. "It's sad because these are the patients who need us the most."
The formula used to calculate the physician fee schedule dictated a 5.4 percent reduction in the Medicare conversion rate for physicians in January, and some previous years had cuts as well. The Academy has urged Congress to repeal the formula. It also has called on the Bush administration to make the administrative changes the law gives it the authority to make, to ensure that no senior goes without needed health care.
FP Report is published by the
AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2002 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.