You knew it was coming folks. I did, too, as a matter of fact. And so, as of July 1st, I famously exited Medicare, stage right. Earlier in the spring, I enjoyed a lunch here in DC at Lauriol Plaza — my favorite Mexican resuarant in the District — with a personal friend of mine fairly high up in HHS who works on MU rules. At one point, when we were discussing the highly cliche will-they-or-won’t-they cut Medicare/Medicaid payments, he rhetorically stated with eyebrows raised, “Think about it, the money’s got to come from somewhere.” The clear implication being that it will logically come from cutting from doctors’ payments.
Now, the New York Times reports this post, discussing the compromises that the Obama administration is proposing to make by cutting CMS payments for services to seniors in exchange for the Republicans allowing them to raise taxes to solve the budget crisis.
Suddenly the $44k incentive money for using EHRs is looking quite pale. E-prescribing for 2%? Pee-shaw!
Dr. West is an endocrinologist in private practice in Washington, DC. He completed fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. West opened The Washington Endocrine Clinic, PLLC, as a solo practice in 2009. He can be reached at doctorwestindc@gmail.com.
