ASA Urges MedPAC to Reject SGR Draft Plans to Cut 18%
On October 5 and 6, 2011, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), the commission tasked with advising Congress on Medicare payment issues, will meet to review a draft recommendation that would help cover the costs of SGR repeal by cutting payments to specialty physicians, such as anesthesiologists, by nearly 18 percent over three years.
In a letter written to MedPAC in response to the proposed plan, ASA President Mark A. Warner, M.D., expresses strong opposition to the commission’s draft recommendation. Dr. Warner writes, “While we support permanently fixing the SGR, we believe cutting payment for anesthesia by 5.9 percent each year over the next three years, followed by a freeze in payment would harm patient access to care and does not take into account that Medicare currently pays anesthesiologists only 33 percent of the average commercial insurance payment for the same service.”
The proposed 10 year plan would differentiate specialty physicians from primary care physicians in regards to Medicare payments. For specialty physicians, the draft recommendation would reduce payments 5.9 percent annually in years 2012, 2013 and 2014, followed by payment freezes for the final seven years. Payments for primary care specialties would be exempt from the payment reductions and would instead be frozen at current 2011 levels for the entirety of the 10-year period.
ASA will continue to update members on the latest MedPAC developments.
Click here to read the letter ASA sent to MedPAC.
Physician Alignment Presents Challenge in Forming ACOs, Survey
Healthcare administrators and physicians report one of the biggest obstacles they face in forming accountable care organizations (ACOs) is physician alignment, according to a survey conducted by AMN Healthcare, a healthcare staffing organization.
The survey of more than 800 administrators and physicians found that 58 percent said they were in the process of forming ACOs or are considering doing so, while 42 percent said their facilities would not be forming ACOs in the foreseeable future.
Of the administrators and physicians moving toward ACOs, 42 percent said physician alignment is the most serious obstacle to their efforts. Forty percent of the physicians and administrators who are not forming ACOs said physician alignment was the reason.
Other obstacles to forming ACOs included lack of capital, the absence of integrated IT systems, and no evidence-based treatment protocol data, according to the survey.
