What Does Sequestration Mean To Physicians and Hospitals?
What does sequestration meant to physicians and hospitals? It means starting April 1st, 2013, The Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will pay 2% less for Medicare services than they did on February 28th, 2013. Sequestration cuts are the result of a badly played political poker hand at the dysfunctional casino. On April 1st, 2013, will my post-sequestration medical opinion be worth 2% less than it was a month previously? Yes, it will.
For physicians and hospitals, the shot across the bow has been fired. What this cut says today is that no matter how perfect the game is played, politics will prevail. I've been a hospitalist now for ten years. In that decade of experience, I have seen many sticks and carrots implemented in various attempts to control healthcare costs and define quality. As I've said for the last five years on The Happy Hospitalist, the only way to control costs is to stop paying for it. It appears the sequestration has proved me right. If we simply stop paying for care, costs will decline.
Over my decade of experience, I have seen implementation of ORYX measures and SCIP requirements and never events that are, well, never mind. There are the MCCs and CCs and MS-DRG. There are the RAC audits and 30 day readmission penalties. There are the bundled care and accountable care programs. Plus, don't forget about...
Source: The Happy Hospitalist - Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Authors: Tamer Mahrous Source Type: blogs
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