Physician groups not thrilled with Medicare deal

Now that the battle over the 5 percent Medicare fee cut is finished, evidence continues to filter in that physicians aren't so thrilled with the compromise that spared them the cut. When the House Ways and Means Committee reached out to physician groups to ask for letters of support, only a few agreed to do so. In particular, the American Medical Association conspicuously declined to issue the letter of support, and what's more, rejected an offer from Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas to make a similar deal in advance for 2007 payments. Not surprisingly, the AMA's displeasure is linked to the 1.5 percent incentive payment for doctors who report quality information. AMA lobbyists have worked hard to discourage legislators from establishing anything that smacked of being a pay-for-performance scheme. (Good luck with that one, guys.)

For an update on the Medicare fee negotiations issue:
- read this article in The Hill

Related Articles:
Doctors consider impact of Medicare incentives. Article
Bill establishes physician quality reporting system. Article

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