Medicare and the Patient

The Des Moines Register Sunday May 26th featured the Polk County Medical Society in the Health Plus Special Section informing patients of the Medicare problems facing Iowa doctors.

Iowa Medicare Patients are paying the same Medicare taxes as the rest of the country, but in Iowa Medicare is not paying for patient care at the same payment rate that other states receive. It has become a challenge to understand why the average payment per Medicare patient in Iowa is up to $4,000 lower than those received in about 49 other states. Medicare has penalized Iowa doctors and hospitals for the quality, cost-efficient care they render. Iowa is ranked 80th in reimbursement of the 89 physician Medicare payment localities, making Iowa one of the lowest reimbursed states in the nation.

January 1, 2002 physician Medicare reimbursement was further reduced 5.4%. The bottom line is Medicare is not paying what it costs to deliver quality care in Iowa.

Medicare is at a crisis stage with the low reimbursement for care. Many doctors are unsure whether they will be able to continue to provide Medicare patients with services. Future new doctors will not be able to take on new Medicare patients because physician groups and hospitals are finding it more difficult to recruit new doctors to the area. Patients under 65 are experiencing the cost-shifting in the health care system because Medicare does not pay its fair share in Iowa for senior care.

The cost for doctors to run a medical office has risen dramatically in the past few years. The Federal government has imposed regulations that require mountains of paper work and staff just to deal with that paperwork. Malpractice insurance companies are closing their doors, making the cost of malpractice insurance almost unaffordable.

WHAT IS THE MEDICAL PROFESSION DOING ON YOUR BEHALF AND YOUR PATIENTS?

On behalf of Medicare Patients' and physicians the American Medical Association, county medical societies, such as Polk County Medical Society, state medical societies, such as Iowa along with specialty societies across the country have met in Washington with the Iowa Congressional delegation to try and get fair Medicare payments.

WHAT CAN MEDICARE PATIENTS DO ABOUT THIS UNFAIR PAYMENT FOR IOWA?

The Polk County Medical Society is encouraging patients to join the medical profession in our fight to try and get the same benefits for Iowa Medicare patients and the same physician payments for services rendered as in other states. Doctors who wish to have the phone numbers and email addresses of the Iowa Congressional delegation can receive that information on line at www.pcms.org or call PCMS at 288-0172. If you would like a handout for your Medicare patients for your office you can receive that information on line at www.iowamedical.org or call IMS at 223-1401. Together, Iowa Medicare patients and doctors can make a difference.