In a co-authored commentary in today's Boston Herald, MMS President Mario Motta, M.D. and Massachusetts Hospital Association Chair and Tufts Medical Center CEO Ellen Zane call attention to a proposal being considered by Congress that would dramatically alter Medicare payments and thus have a huge impact on health care in Massachusetts and 13 other states. The proposal, if enacted, would force Medicare to equalize payments for the same services without regard for regional differences, such as the cost of living. Each state would be reimbursed the same amount for each patient and procedure, even though costs vary widely from state to state.
The potential effects on Massachusetts? A reduction of more than $1.1 billion in Medicare funding every year along with thousands of job losses at health care facilities across the state. Primary care physicians and nursing homes would also be affected. "The proposal does nothing to control health care costs or improve coordination of care," they write. "This provision just shifts the same money around the system, resulting in a less rational allocation of resources....[and] residents in Massachusetts and 13 other states will suffer significant losses in jobs and, thus, in access and quality of care."
Read A formula to hurt Mass. hospitals
Update of September 8: The New York Times reports on the issue.
Read: Data Fuel Regional Fight on Medicare Spending
Recent Comments