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Pelosi stands in the way of “Doc Fix”
Julne 24, 2010
While Democrats continue to argue among themselves, doctors from all over the country are feeling pressure to turn away high numbers of Americans in need of care due to the 21% pay cut to physicians for reimbursing care to Medicare patients.
Facing millions more Baby Boomers soon to be enrolling in this government health plan and Obamacare’s increased reliance on primary-care physicians as central to its entire operation, the timing of this pay-cut bears the potential to escalate into a crisis situation for many physicians.
A recent AMA report alerted Americans that already nearly 17% of surveyed doctors have had to restrict the number of Medicare patients they treat just to stay in business – and for primary-care physicians this rate is even higher at 31%.
Indecision and infighting by the Democrats is hitting primary-care physicians the hardest. As a result, these doctors, already in short supply, are being forced to take on heavier case loads for drastically lower pay in a manner that is pushing many out of private practice.
Last Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked a Senate-passed bill that would have stopped this payment cut to physicians and provided a 2.2% increase in Medicare reimbursements through the end of November. In her statements, Pelosi said that she saw “no reason to pass” the bill.
In short, Democrats are content with taking no action on this legislation – even as physicians continue to lose money at critical levels because of it.
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