Congress is unlikely to cut physician reimbursement rates as mandated by a 1997 program designed to decrease Medicare spending. The 1997 program set up annual spending goals for physician reimbursement. If those goals exceeded economic growth, that was supposed to trigger reimbursement cuts because Medicare funding can't keep doctor's repayments in line with rapidly inflating healthcare costs. But lawmakers fear that decreasing doctors' pay will drive beneficiaries from the program and recognize that the cuts are only a temporary fix for rising Medicare costs. Congress's concerns are at odds with yesterday's GAO report that reimbursement rates don't impact beneficiaries' access to doctors.
For more information on the politics of Medicare funding:
- take a look at this Washington Post report