Physicians' pay cut = pain

Why the Medicare cut is happening and what it means.

Medicare will cut physician reimbursement by almost 3% this year.

If this sounds like deja vu, it is…Congress has futzed around with this issue pretty much every year for as long as I can remember. And, pretty much every year Congress reversed the cut (there was a bill late last year to do just that…it died).

That may well NOT happen this year…if it does go into effect it will be the fifth consecutive year CMS has cut physician reimbursement.

The incoming Trump Administration is looking for any way to slash Federal spending to pay for a huge tax cut for corporations and wealthy individuals. With Medicare the largest single line item in the federal budget, increasing doc pay would make the tax cut that much less likely.

The reduction has gone into effect despite CMS’ estimate that provider practice costs increased 3.5%…the net is a 6.4% reduction in reimbursement.

So…what does this mean for you?

Medicare payments make up over a quarter of total payments for physicians and clinical services…when a quarter of your payers slash reimbursement 6.4% you’re going to make it up somewhere else.

That, dear reader, is you.

For more background, click here.