Medicare plans to slash physician payments will harm Maine seniors

Highlighting a looming access to care crisis for Maine's more than 220,000 Medicare patients, the American Medical Association (AMA) National House Call campaign barnstormed Portland today.

Medicare plans to slash physician payments 10 percent on January 1, 2008, and physicians are deeply concerned about the cut's impact on seniors' access to needed health care.

"Maine has the second highest proportion of Medicare patients in the nation at 17 percent, and the cuts will hurt seniors' ability to see the doctor," said AMA President-elect Nancy Nielsen, M.D. at a Portland press conference. "Sixty percent of physicians tell the AMA next year's Medicare cut will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat."

Congressional action is the only way to stop the Medicare cuts and preserve seniors' access to physician care. The AMA and the Maine Medical Association are teaming up to encourage patients to contact Maine's congressional delegation to stop the Medicare physician payment cuts and provide physicians with a payment update in line with increases in the costs of caring for patients.

"We're very concerned about the cuts impact on Maine seniors," said Maine Medical Association President Kevin Flanigan, M.D. "Maine physicians will lose $27 million for the care of elderly and disabled patients next year due to the 10 percent cut in Medicare payments. Maine's current below average ratio of physicians to Medicare patients will surely be made worse by steep cuts to physicians caring for seniors."

"Next year's cut is just the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Nielsen. "Unless Congress intervenes, Medicare will cut payments to physicians about 40 percent over the next nine years, while practice costs increase 20 percent. During the life of the cuts, the first wave of baby boomers will begin relying on Medicare, and there's a real concern there won't be enough doctors to care for them."

"We thank the Maine congressional delegation for their past support to stop Medicare physician payment cuts," said Dr. Nielsen. "Now we urge them to stop the pending 2008 cut and increase payments in line with practice costs. Congressional action is needed now to preserve seniors' access to care and put Medicare on a firm foundation for the future," said Dr. Nielsen.

Congress can stop the Medicare cut to doctors and preserve seniors' access to care by eliminating overpayments to private health insurers providing Medicare Advantage plans. This government subsidy to the insurance industry amounts to, on average, 12 percent more spent per person enrolled in Medicare Advantage than on patients in traditional Medicare. The result is that instead of making Medicare more sustainable as the baby-boom generation reaches the age of Medicare eligibility, the subsidies are having the opposite effect.

"In Maine, only two percent of seniors are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, yet all seniors are paying the price with higher Medicare premiums to support this government subsidy of the insurance industry," said Dr. Nielsen. "Congress must eliminate the Medicare Advantage subsidy and stop Medicare cuts to physicians that harm seniors' access to health care."