Substantial Reduction in Medicare Payment Rates Under Baucus Bill
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Chairman’s mark for the Healthy Futures Act of 2009 proposed by Senator Max Baucus will be paid for, in part, through a reduction in Medicare payment rates. Specifically, according to a blog post by the CBO, the legislation would "substantially reduce the growth of Medicare’s payment rates for most services".
The CBO also acknowledges that it's estimated cost projections is based on the proposed legislation and legislation currently in effect such as the current Sustainable Growth Rate system pursuant to which physicians are already scheduled to see a major reduction in Medicare reimbursement. Lower reimbursement means physicians will likely need to see more patients (the bill would result in an estimated 29 million more insured patients) than they are currently seeing to generate the same revenue.
