Doctors consider impact of Medicare incentives

Physicians are understandably pleased that CMS won't be cutting back Medicare payments by 5 percent next year. And a 1.5 percent incentive payment in exchange for reporting quality data sounded good at first, too. But no sooner did Congress approve these measures than industry figures began fretting. Some trade association leaders, for example, are suggesting that quality reporting will impose a big administrative burden on physicians. And leaders on opposite sides of the U.S. political spectrum are already saying that they're worried about the idea of having federal bureaucrats set care standards. They're also suggesting that the project will be a difficult one, arguing that developing the standards will strain even the resources of the CMS. Meanwhile, Pete Stark (D-CA) notes that doctors may not like the other side of the incentive coin. If some doctors are to get bonuses, he notes, others who are considered lower performers will have to accept lower fees.

Catch up on the discussion:
- read this piece in The New York Times

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