ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Medicare Sequester Set to Commence March 1

by Daphne Howland • February 26, 2013

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

“The BCA’s Medicare cuts could not occur at a worse time. Medicare physician payments have been nearly frozen for a decade, while the cost of caring for patients has increased by more than 20 percent,” reads a Sept. 12 letter from physician groups, including the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who have retained leadership positions in the new Congress.

You Might Also Like

  • Medicare Physician Payment Cut Averted
  • Medicare Meltdown: Congress Seeks Payment Formula Fix
  • IPAB is Medicare’s New Hammer for Spending Accountability
  • Physician Groups Set 2011 Agenda: Medicare payment reform tops the list
Explore This Issue
February 2013

Indeed, the providers’ September study, conducted by Pittsburgh-based economic-analysis firm Tripp Umbach, showed that losses in the health care sector and related fields could exceed 200,000 jobs in just the first year. Furthermore, Medicare sequester cuts would destabilize a sector of the economy that actually saw moderate growth in otherwise difficult economic times, noted Paul Umbach, a principal of the research firm, at a September presentation of the report. The losses will eventually hurt sectors beyond health care, according to the report.

A health care program like Medicare, with such wide-ranging implications for the economy and for patients requires policy-making that goes beyond budget considerations, said Paul M. Imber, DO, chair of the AAO-HNS Legislative Representatives Committee. “There needs to be a policy emphasis rather than splitting the pie,” he said. “We agree with the concept of looking at alternative systems like a ‘medical home.’ If we’re going to go into a new system, we’ll need a transitional period. We’ll need a consistent, structured program so we can run our practices.”

The “Doc Fix”

The use of Medicare as a budget-balancing tool ignores the need to make sensible health care policy, said a Hill staffer familiar with Medicare negotiations who requested anonymity, and that is the source of providers’ frustration. Congress’s perennial habit of dealing with the sustainable growth rate (SGR) only temporarily (the “doc fix” was once again extended for a year as part of the January fiscal cliff deal that also raised some tax rates on higher earners). The SGR and the Medicare sequester ignore the need to address payment policy questions, said Dr. Imber .

Provider groups, including the AAO-HNS, in an effort to finally permanently fix the SGR, had tried to tie it with the Medicare sequester in their communications with Washington. The AAO-HNS signed on to a letter to Congress by the AMA and other providers asking for payment reform that moves Medicare from its current fee-for-service-dominated system to one that provides more certainty and rationality for physicians and patients, said Dr. Imber. They have also sent out a “Declaration of Independence” from the SGR formula in an effort to get Congress to deal with the matter once and for all.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Health Policy, News, Online Exclusives, Practice Management Tagged With: Medicare, policy, sequesterIssue: February 2013

You Might Also Like:

  • Medicare Physician Payment Cut Averted
  • Medicare Meltdown: Congress Seeks Payment Formula Fix
  • IPAB is Medicare’s New Hammer for Spending Accountability
  • Physician Groups Set 2011 Agenda: Medicare payment reform tops the list

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Otolaryngologists Have a Major Role to Play in Treating COVID-19 Long-Haulers
    • Weaning Patients Off of PPIs
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Podcasts Becoming More Popular Method of Education for Otolaryngologists
    • How to Embrace Optimism in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Tips on How to Approach Conversations with Patients about the COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Steps You Should Take to Protect Your Voice and Hearing During Telemedicine Sessions
    • Routine Postoperative Adjunct Treatments Unnecessary for Idiopathic Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks

Polls

Have you spoken with your patients about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.