/PRNewswire/ -- The Physicians Foundation today released the results of a national survey of physicians that finds strong negative feelings towards the new health care reform law and fear that patient care will suffer in the months and years ahead. The survey was intended to gauge physicians' initial reaction to the passage of health reform and to learn the ways in which they plan to respond to it.
The research, conducted by Merritt Hawkins, a national physician search and consulting firm, on behalf of the Foundation, comes on the two-year anniversary of the Foundation's first national physician survey (available at www.physiciansfoundation.org) that found growing dissatisfaction among doctors as they struggle with less time for patient care and increased time dealing with non-clinical paperwork, difficulty receiving reimbursement and burdensome government regulations. The new research reinforces those findings and shows that the new health care reform could intensify existing problems for doctors and worsen the shortage of primary care doctors, making it more difficult for patients to access quality care.
"Physicians support reform; in fact, we were the ones leading the fight against the status quo. But this new research shows that doctors strongly believe the law is not working like it needs to – for them, or for their patients," said Lou Goodman, PhD, President. "For any health care reform effort to be successful, it must include the viewpoint of our nation's doctors. Their perspective from the front-lines of patient care is critical in determining what's broken in our system and how we can fix it."
Notably, physicians also felt that Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate formula (SGR) had an equally large impact on their practices as health care reform. Proposed cuts have been repeatedly put off by Congress and in January will reach approximately 30% if not addressed.
"Despite the high profile nature of the health reform discussion, physicians are equally concerned over the impact of SGR on their practices," said Walker Ray, MD, Research Committee Chair. "The fact that SGR was not addressed as part of this year's reform effort shows that we don't have a comprehensive solution yet, and also that doctors simply didn't have a voice at the table during the reform debate. That needs to change."
Key research findings include:
* The majority of physicians (60%) said health reform will compel them to close or significantly restrict their practices to certain categories of patients. Of these, 93% said they will be forced to close or significantly restrict their practices to Medicaid patients, while 87% said they would be forced to close or significantly restrict their practices to Medicare patients.
* 40% of physicians said they would drop out of patient care in the next one to three years, either by retiring, seeking a non-clinical job within healthcare, or by seeking a non-healthcare related job.
* The majority of physicians (59%) said health reform will cause them to spend less time with patients.
* While over half of physicians said health reform will cause patient volumes in their practices to increase, 69% said they no longer have the time or resources to see additional patients in their practices while still maintaining quality of care.
* 67% of physicians said their initial reaction to passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was either "somewhat negative" or "very negative" and a great majority (86%) believes the viewpoint of physicians was not adequately represented to policy makers during the run-up to passage of the law.
* Physicians are almost evenly divided over the relative importance of SGR (36%) and health reform (34%) to their practices, while 30% are unsure which will have the greatest impact.
Showing posts with label physicians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label physicians. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Washington Physicians Launch Medicare Meltdown Petition Drive
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Medicare is breaking down and needs lasting repair, Washington physicians have told the state's Congressional Delegation. Now the state's physicians are launching a petition drive with their patients to help prevent a Medicare Meltdown.
The petition urges Congress to fix the flawed payment formula that threatens care for Washington's 897,000 Medicare recipients, including senior citizens and people with disabilities, and 337,000 military family members covered by TRICARE.
"The final blow to access to care resulted from Congress adjourning for its Spring recess without taking action to stop a 21.2% cut in Medicare payments for physicians' services. Current payment levels don't cover the cost of many services now," stated Dr. Deborah J. Harper, President of the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA). The WSMA represents over 9,600 physicians and surgeons across the state.
"For a Medicare patient, a doctor can mean everything: independence, hope, and security," said Dr. Harper. "But Medicare patients are feeling anything but secure about the future of their health care. Every year for a decade, physicians and other practitioners have faced steep Medicare cuts that jeopardize our ability to care for our patients."
Each year Congress slaps a temporary Band-Aid on the problem, postponing a steep cut to a later date. The most recent cut went into effect on April Fools' Day, and Congress is expected to place another temporary patch on the problem when it reconvenes next week. It would be the third patch this year alone. "This ongoing uncertainty hurts patients and their doctors. Patients need to know their doctor will be there when they need them," added Dr. Harper.
As of today, over 40 state medical associations have joined in the petition drive.
"Our seniors, patients with disabilities, and military families deserve better than the on-again/off-again health plan Medicare has become," said Dr. Harper. "The only acceptable solution is for Congress to repeal the flawed Medicare formula and replace it with a stable, fair funding mechanism that reflects the true cost of providing care."
Physicians report their Medicare patients routinely ask them if they know of other physicians -
both specialists and primary care - who will see and care for them. Finding doctors to care for new Medicare patients is a constant struggle, they say.
Physicians will be inviting their patients to join the grassroots effort to save Medicare by signing the online petition. A link to the easy-to-complete online petition is at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/meltdown/.
The petition urges Congress to fix the flawed payment formula that threatens care for Washington's 897,000 Medicare recipients, including senior citizens and people with disabilities, and 337,000 military family members covered by TRICARE.
"The final blow to access to care resulted from Congress adjourning for its Spring recess without taking action to stop a 21.2% cut in Medicare payments for physicians' services. Current payment levels don't cover the cost of many services now," stated Dr. Deborah J. Harper, President of the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA). The WSMA represents over 9,600 physicians and surgeons across the state.
"For a Medicare patient, a doctor can mean everything: independence, hope, and security," said Dr. Harper. "But Medicare patients are feeling anything but secure about the future of their health care. Every year for a decade, physicians and other practitioners have faced steep Medicare cuts that jeopardize our ability to care for our patients."
Each year Congress slaps a temporary Band-Aid on the problem, postponing a steep cut to a later date. The most recent cut went into effect on April Fools' Day, and Congress is expected to place another temporary patch on the problem when it reconvenes next week. It would be the third patch this year alone. "This ongoing uncertainty hurts patients and their doctors. Patients need to know their doctor will be there when they need them," added Dr. Harper.
As of today, over 40 state medical associations have joined in the petition drive.
"Our seniors, patients with disabilities, and military families deserve better than the on-again/off-again health plan Medicare has become," said Dr. Harper. "The only acceptable solution is for Congress to repeal the flawed Medicare formula and replace it with a stable, fair funding mechanism that reflects the true cost of providing care."
Physicians report their Medicare patients routinely ask them if they know of other physicians -
both specialists and primary care - who will see and care for them. Finding doctors to care for new Medicare patients is a constant struggle, they say.
Physicians will be inviting their patients to join the grassroots effort to save Medicare by signing the online petition. A link to the easy-to-complete online petition is at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/meltdown/.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Senate Inaction On Medicare Hurts Seniors, Military and Boomers
/PRNewswire/ -- A Medicare meltdown now seems certain, as the U.S. Senate has left early for the weekend, abandoning seniors, military families and baby boomers. The Senate failed to repeal the Medicare physician payment formula that will cause a drastic 21 percent payment cut to physicians who care for Medicare and TRICARE patients. On Monday, the 21 percent cut goes into effect, forcing physicians to consider the difficult decision to limit the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they see in order to keep their practice doors open.
"Our message to the U.S. Senate is stop playing games with Medicare patients and the physicians who care for them," said AMA President J. James Rohack, M.D. "It is shocking that the Senate would abandon our most vulnerable patients, making them the collateral damage of their procedural games."
Already, about one in four Medicare patients seeking a primary care physician is having trouble finding one, according to MedPAC, Congress' advisory body on Medicare. Physicians have told AMA that steep Medicare cuts will force them to limit the number of Medicare patients they treat. A new 2010 survey of neurosurgeons found that 60 percent are already reducing the number of Medicare patients in their practices, and cuts will force nearly 40 percent to decrease the number of new Medicare patients they see. More than 18 percent of neurosurgeons will no longer take new Medicare patients.
"The Senate had more than a year to repeal the formula and ensure the security and stability of Medicare and TRICARE, but that opportunity has been squandered," Dr. Rohack said. "This drastic cut will hurt our senior, disabled and military patients, as well as baby boomers who start entering the Medicare program next year."
"Last November, the U.S. House passed legislation (H.R. 3961) that would repeal the broken formula and better update payments to reflect the increasing cost of care," Dr. Rohack said. "AARP and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) have joined with the AMA in calling on the Senate to act, but the Senate has turned its back on America's seniors, military families and baby boomers."
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"Our message to the U.S. Senate is stop playing games with Medicare patients and the physicians who care for them," said AMA President J. James Rohack, M.D. "It is shocking that the Senate would abandon our most vulnerable patients, making them the collateral damage of their procedural games."
Already, about one in four Medicare patients seeking a primary care physician is having trouble finding one, according to MedPAC, Congress' advisory body on Medicare. Physicians have told AMA that steep Medicare cuts will force them to limit the number of Medicare patients they treat. A new 2010 survey of neurosurgeons found that 60 percent are already reducing the number of Medicare patients in their practices, and cuts will force nearly 40 percent to decrease the number of new Medicare patients they see. More than 18 percent of neurosurgeons will no longer take new Medicare patients.
"The Senate had more than a year to repeal the formula and ensure the security and stability of Medicare and TRICARE, but that opportunity has been squandered," Dr. Rohack said. "This drastic cut will hurt our senior, disabled and military patients, as well as baby boomers who start entering the Medicare program next year."
"Last November, the U.S. House passed legislation (H.R. 3961) that would repeal the broken formula and better update payments to reflect the increasing cost of care," Dr. Rohack said. "AARP and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) have joined with the AMA in calling on the Senate to act, but the Senate has turned its back on America's seniors, military families and baby boomers."
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Physician Groups Oppose Current Senate Health Care Reform Bill
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, a group of national medical societies launched a multi-state advertising campaign in opposition to H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate and making its way towards a final vote in the coming days. The groups are targeting key states, urging Senators to vote against a health care bill that is "bad medicine" for patients.
"Physicians know first hand that our health care system needs reform - but the current Senate health care bill is 'bad medicine' for patients," said Troy M. Tippett, M.D., President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. "The Senate bill inappropriately expands the role of the federal government in health care decision making, and undermines the doctor-patient relationship that is critical to a health care delivery system that works for patients."
"While we are united in our desire to improve health care and extend coverage, the current Senate bill is not the cure to what ails our health care system. It jeopardizes patient access to the physician of their choice," said Joseph D. Zuckerman, M.D., President of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons. "We urge the Senate to take a step back, and make essential changes to this bill before a rush to reform leads to a bad outcome for patients across the country."
Physician organizations supporting this initiative include: the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, American Society of Breast Surgeons, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Arthroscopy Association of North America, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, National Association of Spine Specialists, Orthopaedic Trauma Association, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.
Dozens of other medical groups, representing hundreds of thousands of physicians, are also on record opposing the current Senate health care reform bill.
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"Physicians know first hand that our health care system needs reform - but the current Senate health care bill is 'bad medicine' for patients," said Troy M. Tippett, M.D., President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. "The Senate bill inappropriately expands the role of the federal government in health care decision making, and undermines the doctor-patient relationship that is critical to a health care delivery system that works for patients."
"While we are united in our desire to improve health care and extend coverage, the current Senate bill is not the cure to what ails our health care system. It jeopardizes patient access to the physician of their choice," said Joseph D. Zuckerman, M.D., President of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons. "We urge the Senate to take a step back, and make essential changes to this bill before a rush to reform leads to a bad outcome for patients across the country."
Physician organizations supporting this initiative include: the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, American Society of Breast Surgeons, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Arthroscopy Association of North America, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, National Association of Spine Specialists, Orthopaedic Trauma Association, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.
Dozens of other medical groups, representing hundreds of thousands of physicians, are also on record opposing the current Senate health care reform bill.
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Monday, October 19, 2009
Concord Coalition Says That Medicare 'Doc Fix' Should Be Paid For
/PRNewswire/ -- The Concord Coalition said today that if Congress raises physician reimbursement rates in Medicare, it should spell out how to pay for the changes.
The Senate is expected to consider a bill this week that would permanently increase physician reimbursement rates relative to the current Medicare "sustainable growth rate" (SGR) formula and exempt this "doc fix" from pay-as-you-go budget rules (PAYGO). This exemption would increase federal deficits by roughly $250 billion over 10 years.
Concord said that changes in the payment formula should be included and paid for as part of comprehensive health care reform. The issue of how Medicare reimburses physicians is central to the broader effort to get Medicare and health spending in general onto a more sustainable path.
"Dealing with the 'doc fix' in a separate bill, outside of health care reform, would change the scoring of the bills but not the effect on the deficit. If policymakers believe that the current SGR formula is unrealistic, they should replace it with a more appropriate policy and pay for the change in keeping with their pledge to reform health care in a deficit-neutral way. If paying for this SGR change means there would be fewer offsets on the table to pay for expanded coverage, then policymakers would be forced to appropriately weigh their priorities and make the necessary tough choices -- either scale back other costs in the health reform package or find more ways to pay for the larger bill," said Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L Bixby.
Bixby said that deficit-financing a permanent increase in Medicare physician payments does not bode well for eventually "bending the health cost curve" and improving fiscal sustainability more generally.
"The current SGR payment formula was originally enacted as part of the 1997 balanced budget agreement to slow the growth of physician payments. Exempting a change in that formula from PAYGO would undermine the credibility of promises now being made to restrict provider payments in the future. Why should anyone believe that Congress will enforce future promises to limit provider payments when it cannot summon the political will to enforce the limits it has already enacted?" Bixby said.
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The Senate is expected to consider a bill this week that would permanently increase physician reimbursement rates relative to the current Medicare "sustainable growth rate" (SGR) formula and exempt this "doc fix" from pay-as-you-go budget rules (PAYGO). This exemption would increase federal deficits by roughly $250 billion over 10 years.
Concord said that changes in the payment formula should be included and paid for as part of comprehensive health care reform. The issue of how Medicare reimburses physicians is central to the broader effort to get Medicare and health spending in general onto a more sustainable path.
"Dealing with the 'doc fix' in a separate bill, outside of health care reform, would change the scoring of the bills but not the effect on the deficit. If policymakers believe that the current SGR formula is unrealistic, they should replace it with a more appropriate policy and pay for the change in keeping with their pledge to reform health care in a deficit-neutral way. If paying for this SGR change means there would be fewer offsets on the table to pay for expanded coverage, then policymakers would be forced to appropriately weigh their priorities and make the necessary tough choices -- either scale back other costs in the health reform package or find more ways to pay for the larger bill," said Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L Bixby.
Bixby said that deficit-financing a permanent increase in Medicare physician payments does not bode well for eventually "bending the health cost curve" and improving fiscal sustainability more generally.
"The current SGR payment formula was originally enacted as part of the 1997 balanced budget agreement to slow the growth of physician payments. Exempting a change in that formula from PAYGO would undermine the credibility of promises now being made to restrict provider payments in the future. Why should anyone believe that Congress will enforce future promises to limit provider payments when it cannot summon the political will to enforce the limits it has already enacted?" Bixby said.
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
New Report to President and Congress Addresses 'Serious Oversights' in National Health Care Debate
/PRNewswire/ -- A report commissioned by The Physicians Foundation, a national health care organization that represents the interests of physicians, raises new questions about the role of socioeconomic determinants as they relate to access, quality, and cost of medical care in the United States. The report, prepared by a team of noted physicians and economists headed by Richard "Buz" Cooper, MD, Professor of Medicine and Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, was sent to the President and Congress today in order to contribute to the national health care debate.
The report, entitled "Physicians and their Practices under Health Care Reform," highlights several important concerns that the report's authors believe have been left out of the health care discussion, including: the growing problem of physician shortages, the changes in physicians' practices that will be necessary in a reformed health care system, and the pervasive effects of poverty and other social determinants which impact variation in access, quality and cost of care.
The full report can be viewed at www.physiciansfoundation.org.
"In preparing this report, our goal was to create a realistic, common-sense framework that will assist legislators in crafting policy in ways that address the needs of both doctors and patients and that lead to a stronger and more cost-effective health care system," said Dr. Cooper. "It's clear that without adequate numbers of physicians, the health care system cannot function effectively; without adequate attention to the structure of physician practices, the system cannot function efficiently; and without adequate attention to the pervasive social determinants of health, it cannot function economically."
"We are at a rare moment in history when important decisions are being made that will impact doctors, their patients and the entire health care delivery system for many years to come, if not forever," said Lou Goodman, PhD, President of The Physicians Foundation. "The Physicians Foundation commissioned this report in order to bring new perspectives to the discussions of health care reform. We believe that the report will add richness to the policy discussions as they resume this fall."
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The report, entitled "Physicians and their Practices under Health Care Reform," highlights several important concerns that the report's authors believe have been left out of the health care discussion, including: the growing problem of physician shortages, the changes in physicians' practices that will be necessary in a reformed health care system, and the pervasive effects of poverty and other social determinants which impact variation in access, quality and cost of care.
The full report can be viewed at www.physiciansfoundation.org.
"In preparing this report, our goal was to create a realistic, common-sense framework that will assist legislators in crafting policy in ways that address the needs of both doctors and patients and that lead to a stronger and more cost-effective health care system," said Dr. Cooper. "It's clear that without adequate numbers of physicians, the health care system cannot function effectively; without adequate attention to the structure of physician practices, the system cannot function efficiently; and without adequate attention to the pervasive social determinants of health, it cannot function economically."
"We are at a rare moment in history when important decisions are being made that will impact doctors, their patients and the entire health care delivery system for many years to come, if not forever," said Lou Goodman, PhD, President of The Physicians Foundation. "The Physicians Foundation commissioned this report in order to bring new perspectives to the discussions of health care reform. We believe that the report will add richness to the policy discussions as they resume this fall."
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Thursday, July 30, 2009
Doctors demand Obama apology
Dr. Richard S. Kerr, M.D., a West Virginia Libertarian Party member and a retired doctor with 36 years experience, asked President Barack Obama last Thursday to apologize for comments made in his July 22nd press conference accusing doctors of conspiring to make children sicker for profits.
“President Obama should be ashamed of himself for trying to scare Americans into supporting his government takeover of medicine by falsely accusing doctors of making children sicker. I have never heard a more disgusting or blatantly phony conspiracy theory. We treat our patients with the respect, care and concern you will never find in Obama’s government-run rationed care bureaucracy,” said Dr. Kerr.
“On behalf of my colleagues, I respectfully ask President Obama to apologize for such a slanderous lie and ask him to stop engaging in sickening conspiracy theories to push his government-run scheme. These cheap scare tactics are beneath the dignity of the office of The President and perfectly illustrate why more and more Americans are losing faith in Barack Obama.”
In his July 22nd press conference, Obama claimed, “…you come in and you've got a bad sore throat, or your child has a bad sore throat or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, you know what, I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out.”
“For President Obama’s information, pediatricians do not perform tonsillectomies. If he doesn’t know that, then he has no business centrally planning your family’s health care,” said Dr. Kerr.
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“President Obama should be ashamed of himself for trying to scare Americans into supporting his government takeover of medicine by falsely accusing doctors of making children sicker. I have never heard a more disgusting or blatantly phony conspiracy theory. We treat our patients with the respect, care and concern you will never find in Obama’s government-run rationed care bureaucracy,” said Dr. Kerr.
“On behalf of my colleagues, I respectfully ask President Obama to apologize for such a slanderous lie and ask him to stop engaging in sickening conspiracy theories to push his government-run scheme. These cheap scare tactics are beneath the dignity of the office of The President and perfectly illustrate why more and more Americans are losing faith in Barack Obama.”
In his July 22nd press conference, Obama claimed, “…you come in and you've got a bad sore throat, or your child has a bad sore throat or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, you know what, I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out.”
“For President Obama’s information, pediatricians do not perform tonsillectomies. If he doesn’t know that, then he has no business centrally planning your family’s health care,” said Dr. Kerr.
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