Medicare reimbursement cuts effective today
Hospitals and physicians bracing for cuts
9:01 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Doctors at one local hospital are saying no to new patients tonight.
Cotton O"Neil, a division of Stormont Vail, says they have no choice but to turn away patients after the government cut back Medicare payments by more than 10 percent.
49 News Anchor Sophia Spencer sat down with a chief medical officer for some answers.
New Medicare patients will no longer be able to walk in the doors of Cotton O'Neil clinics.
Dr. Kent Palmberg, Chief Medical Officer of Stormont Vail says, "It's so painful to take this action to say that our permanent docs cannot accept Medicare patients."
The phones at the hospital continue to ring with patients asking questions, but the answers new Medicare patients are getting aren't the ones they want to hear.
Dr. Palmberg says, "I don't know how many calls we get every day, but I do know we get calls every day from people looking for docs for these Medicare patients that need a doc. I just hope Congress gets this thing reversed."
For now, all Medicare payments have been frozen by President Bush after the 10.6 percent cut squeaked through the Senate.
"This bill that would have reversed these cuts passed overwhelmingly in the House and failed by one vote in the Senate."
On July 7, Congress will revisit the Medicare cuts. But if they stay in place, Dr. Palmberg fears it will cost taxpayers even more in the long run.
"In the absence of being able to take those patients, those patients will have no choice but come to ER," Dr. Palmberg says.
A visit healthcare officials say would be much more expensive that physician-based preventive care.
If you are one of the new Medicare patients who was turned away, please email Sophia at sspencer@ktka.tv
The hospital will continue to treat the 42,000 Medicare patients they do have, and any existing patients who become eligible by turning 65.
But remember, you have to be an existing Cotton-O'Neil patient.
From Rep. Nancy Boyda...
"This was a case of partisan politics through and through. We had a good fix for a disastrous situation. The bill would have prevented a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements and stopped the expiration of bonus payments that allow rural areas to keep their laboratories and ambulance services. It included help for pharmacies, rural clinics, and low-income seniors – without increasing the debt. The House voted for the fix by an overwhelming margin. The Senate, however, failed by just one vote to prevent a filibuster. The bottom line is, as of today, some providers will financially have no choice but to stop accepting new Medicare patients. It is a sad day for health care in Kansas.”
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