In a few days, President Obama will offer up his proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2014. His plan comes out at the same time that physicians and patients are grappling with the fall-out of the sequestration cuts and some shortfalls in coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
On Capitol Hill this week, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) took the administration to task after a program designed to insure adults with preexisting health conditions ran out of money. Rep. Burgess, a physician, said the Obama administration was at fault for underestimating the need.
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Some cancer patients are feeling the effects of sequestration. As of April 1, Medicare began the sequestration process, which cut Medicare physician pay by 2%. It also cut the fees paid for administering cancer drugs. As a result, some community oncologists are being forced to turn Medicare patients away.
And don’t forget about the looming 24% cut to Medicare physician fees, which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2014. That cut, called for under the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, can only be averted through action by Congress. Two of the House committees that oversee Medicare are working on a plan and are seeking physician comment. The preliminary plan would eliminate the SGR and phase in a new payment scheme that would base part of a physician’s pay on quality of care. Alternative payment models that get physician away from the fee-for-service system are also part of the plan.
Hear about all these issues and more in this week’s Policy and Practice podcast. And stay tuned next week for a detailed assessment of the President’s budget and how it will affect physicians.