Unless lawmakers act before the end of the year, doctor reimbursements are scheduled to be reduced even as providers complain current reimbursement rates don’t cover the cost of care.
The result: Many doctors are declining to take on new Medicare patients and many are thinking about disenrolling in the system, reports the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, which has historically opposed Medicare.
“Disenrollment is a way to evict occupiers from doctors’ offices and the patient-physician relationship,” suggests Dr. Jane M. Orient, the association’s executive director. “Occupiers include bureaucrats, bounty-hunting auditors, federal prosecutors waiting for doctors to trip up on complex rules — and AMA [American Medical Association] officials and committees who make up complicated codes and dictate the ‘relative value’ of all covered services.”
