That is for experts in medical practice to decide. But I certainly would assume a low figure in the 10% range, maybe less. Above that and you create major disincentives and that would be a really terrible idea. Billy ------------------------------------------------------ 3/26/2012 2:43:37 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Hi Billy, On Mar 26, 2012, at 2:37 PM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: Finally, the CPC budget would prevent the 27-percent cut to physicians’ payments under Medicare that is scheduled to be imposed in calendar year 2013. This automatic cut resulting from the sustainable growth rate (SGR) mechanism installed in the 1990s has been avoided in recent years by providing offsetting deficit reduction – referred to as the “doc fix.” CPC includes and fully pays for this “doc fix” over 10 years, preventing the physician payment cut. This is nonsense, all doctors should be required, as part of their licensing, to provide medical services to X number of patients under Medicare. This would be a "sacrifice"? Like hell. I simply cannot feel pain for people earning $ 150,000 or $ 250,000 when they are asked to chip in for the national good and the well being of people who live at the poverty level. Fine, but for what level of "X"? 10%? 50%? 90%? The problem is that Medicare patients are not evenly distributed geographically. Do we bus patients around to de-segregate them? I agree, our current pseudo-market system of health care is a general disaster all the way around. But underpriced Medicare patients don't just cost doctors, they also cost nurses, clinics, non-profits, etc. Who pays them? If you wanted to just propose a, say, 10% surtax on medical professionals making more than $150,000 and use that to fund Medicare coverage, that would probably be more equitable. Otherwise, the decline in payments is an effective tax on those doctors who *are* willing to take Medicare, and enforcing quotas is a bitch. E -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: _http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism_ (http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism) Radical Centrism website and blog: _http://RadicalCentrism.org_ (http://radicalcentrism.org/) -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
