Here you will find thoughts and opinons of an oculoplastic surgeon in-training. Oculoplastic surgery focuses on reconstructive and aesthetic procedures of the eyelids, orbits, and the midface. Having been fully-trained as an ophthalmologist, we are a group of exceptional surgeons who are used to working in critical areas using tiny, tiny instruments. Besides my field of training, my discussion will also include general plastics surgery, surgery in general, eye care, and just about anything medical or health-science related. So feel free to drop me a line for anything you'd like to ask. I won't guarantee that I'd right all the time, but you'd always get an opnion.
According to this article, it is unlikely that medicare reimbursement checks will stop going out to physicians. This did not occur during the last shut-down either. New medicare applicant's applications will likely be delayed. However, government contractors will not be paid, which means for those of us going to the VA as a contractor may be affected.
"A program like Medicare involves a variety of services, many of which would be considered essential to the public. For example, a federal government shutdown would not prevent Medicare recipients from receiving health care. During the last shutdown, Medicare even continued to pay physicians and hospitals. However, due to some of the staff being furloughed, there were about 400,000 new Medicare applicants who were delayed. With a government shutdown potentially around the corner, a program covering such a large population is bound to draw attention. Not to mention the program costs almost $700 billion per year, making up almost a
quarter of federal spending and covering about 43 million people, 7 million being under-65 disabled people. Additionally, almost half of those covered by Medicare are considered from low-income households. Therefore, a large number of Americans would be impacted if portions of Medicare were shut down, and a large number of them would be unlikely to have the resources to cover their own medical care if there were some hold up.
Fortunately, Medicare recipients were largely unaffected during the last federal government shutdown, and would likely be unaffected if the government shuts down on April 8. However, if there is some effect, even a relatively small one, it would be drastic considering the breadth of the program and circumstances of those relying on it."
Washington -- Lawmakers should increase Medicare payment rates to physicians and prevent a massive across-the-board cut set for 2012, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommended in its annual March report to Congress.
The commission suggested a 1% increase in doctor pay in place of the scheduled reduction. [DY: As if the 1% raise is at all realistic while the SGR cut is still dangling over our heads.] The report was released March 15, days after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services projected that doctor pay faces a 29.5% cut next year under the sustainable growth rate formula.
The MedPAC recommendation is not binding on Congress, although lawmakers sometimes use the advice as a starting point for congressional negotiations on preventing upcoming pay cuts. The 2012 reduction is the largest that physicians have faced to date.
"The AMA concurs with MedPAC's conclusion that the nearly 30% cut built into Medicare's payment system for 2012 would jeopardize access to physician services for many patients and should be replaced with a positive update to help offset increases in practice costs," said American Medical Association President Cecil B. Wilson, MD.
"The current Medicare physician payment formula is broken, and the AMA will work with MedPAC and policymakers on both sides of the aisle to replace it with a system that better reflects the costs and practice of 21st century medical care and provides stability for physicians and their Medicare patients."
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