National Society of Physicians Says Medicare Cuts Will Force Docs to Close Practices

Posted by admin on June 12, 2010 under Medicare | Be the First to Comment

FROM:
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERVENTIONAL PAIN PHYSICIANS
81 LAKEVIEW DRIVE
PADUCAH, KY 42001
www.asipp.org

Rubenstein Public Relations
Contact: Adam Mazur Tel: 212.873.8073
Email: amazur@rubensteinpr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PHYSICIANS SAYS MEDICARE CUTS WILL FORCE DOCS TO CLOSE PRACTICES

Huge Physician Payment Cuts Expected April 1

PADUCAH, KY, MARCH 31, 2010 – A leading national society of doctors is saying that many physicians will cease to actively practice or at the very least, drop Medicare over large pending payment cuts.

ASIPP, the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, is speaking out against Congress, currently in the midst of its two-week spring recess, for not taking action to stop the fast-approaching cut.  The Senate intends to hold a cloture vote after the recess which, if supported by 60 senators, will allow for a vote on the legislation that could occur as early as April 12.

The U.S. Senate held a floor debate on H.R. 4851 that would extend a number of expiring programs through April.  That bill, which had already passed the House, includes a 30-day extension of the current Medicare physician payment rates, postponing, once again, the 21.3 percent cut scheduled to take effect in 2010.

Since Congress failed to act yet again, the 21.3 percent Medicare physician payment cut will take effect on April 1.  The Center for Medicare Services (CMS) will make an announcement about their plans for handling claims starting April 1 but based on its past course of action, CMS will likely hold payments, rather than reprocessing millions of potential claims if Congress takes action when they return from recess.

“Congress seems to be intent on advancing a potentially harmful situation that is wreaking havoc with physicians’ practices,” said Dr. David Kloth, board member, past president and national spokesman for ASIPP.  “Should Congress fail to act responsibly, almost every physician I have spoken with is either dropping Medicare or at least considering that option or worse, may just stop practicing completely.”

Among the startling results yielded by one recent study of over 250 actively practicing doctors who were questioned about the proposed 21.3 % Medicare cuts:
• 41 % said they will stop taking new Medicare patients,
• 24 % will stop taking Medicare patients entirely,
• Well over 50 % will defer the purchase of information technology, in effect, spurning a widely publicized federal tax incentive,
• 42 % of the doctors surveyed said they will layoff staff.

ASIPP strongly believes that health care reform is mandatory for the country but strongly disagrees with many aspects of the new legislation.

“If these cuts are allowed to go through many doctors will simply shut down their practices,” adds Kloth. “So it won’t matter that 30 million more people will receive health insurance because we will have far less doctors available to treat them.”

For interviews with David Kloth, MD, national spokesman for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) please call (212) 843-8073 or email amazur@rubensteinpr.com.

About The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians

ASIPP’s mission statement is to promote the development and practice of safe, high quality, cost-effective interventional pain management techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of pain and related disorders, and to ensure patient access to these interventions. Founded in 1998 by current CEO Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD, ASIPP is a rapidly growing not-for-profit organization that supports the needs of physicians who practice Interventional Pain Management across the country.

Since its inception, the organization has had substantial impact on the practice of interventional pain medicine, resulting in an impressive list of major achievements. In 2005, ASIPP succeeded in passing The National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (NASPER), which provides and improves patient access to quality care, and protects patients and physicians from the deleterious effects of controlled substance misuse, abuse and trafficking. ASIPP is headquartered in Paducah, KY and currently has over 4,000 members. For more information, visit www.asipp.org or call 270.554.9412. Ext. 215.