The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has called on Congress to increase Medicare physician reimbursement by 2.7 percent in 2006.
The recommendation is part of a 255-page MedPAC report submitted to Congress March 1. The report also asks Congress to take numerous other actions that would establish pay-for-performance programs, standardize language used in reporting laboratory test results and include use of information technology among quality measures.
“The MedPAC recommendations on reimbursement are a valuable part of the discussion,” said Kevin Burke, director of AAFP’s Government Relations Dvision. “We agree with most, disagree with some and need to evaluate others. But MedPac did benefit greatly from several discussions with AAFP’s leadership and I am sure that the dialogue will continue.”
MedPAC Recommends 2.7 Percent Hike Under Medicare
By News Staff
3/4/2005
This story first appeared in the March 4, 2005, AAFP Direct.
MedPAC’s call for a 2.7 percent increase in physician reimbursement would add $1.5 billion to the federal budget in 2006 and an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion over the next five years. That increase was not calculated in President Bush’s 2006 budget.
Whether Congress implements MedPAC’s recommendation depends on legislators’ willingness to add the projected increase to the budget. Mark-up of the budget is scheduled to begin in the House and Senate Budget committees March 7.
Currently, the number of physicians who accept Medicare is adequate to meet demand, the MedPAC report says. MedPAC surveys indicate that 77 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had “no problem” finding a primary care physician and 89 percent had no problem finding a subspecialist in 2004. In a 2003 survey, 91.5 percent of beneficiaries said they always or usually got an appointment as soon as they wanted.
Meanwhile, the number of physicians accepting Medicare patients increased by 8.8 percent from 1999 to 2003, well above the 3.6 percent increase in Medicare Part B enrollment during the same period.
The commission’s recommended payment increase would “maintain access to physician care and physician willingness to serve Medicare beneficiaries,” the report says.
Unaltered, the current formula to determine physician reimbursement -- using the sustainable growth rate -- would decrease Medicare payment to physicians by 5.2 percent in 2006 and by 30 percent over the next seven years.
MedPAC has called on Congress to change the reimbursement formula since 2001.
To read the MedPAC report, go to http://www.medpac.gov/publications/
congressional_reports/Mar05_TOC.pdf and click on the red boxes to link to specific sections (More about using PDF files.)
Whether Congress implements MedPAC’s recommendation depends on legislators’ willingness to add the projected increase to the budget. Mark-up of the budget is scheduled to begin in the House and Senate Budget committees March 7.
Currently, the number of physicians who accept Medicare is adequate to meet demand, the MedPAC report says. MedPAC surveys indicate that 77 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had “no problem” finding a primary care physician and 89 percent had no problem finding a subspecialist in 2004. In a 2003 survey, 91.5 percent of beneficiaries said they always or usually got an appointment as soon as they wanted.
Meanwhile, the number of physicians accepting Medicare patients increased by 8.8 percent from 1999 to 2003, well above the 3.6 percent increase in Medicare Part B enrollment during the same period.
The commission’s recommended payment increase would “maintain access to physician care and physician willingness to serve Medicare beneficiaries,” the report says.
Unaltered, the current formula to determine physician reimbursement -- using the sustainable growth rate -- would decrease Medicare payment to physicians by 5.2 percent in 2006 and by 30 percent over the next seven years.
MedPAC has called on Congress to change the reimbursement formula since 2001.
To read the MedPAC report, go to http://www.medpac.gov/publications/
congressional_reports/Mar05_TOC.pdf and click on the red boxes to link to specific sections (More about using PDF files.)
