Hospital Providers....watch out!!!

[physasst]

Now, this is not to debate which side was right or have a long political discussion, but merely to let people know what was just passed...Hospitals and Dialysis centers get hosed....this could affect salaries for hospital providers....

 

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130101/NEWS/301019979?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMWGJWZjBBRWxiNUtpQzMyWmVxNTMwWUpidW8=&utm_source=link-20130101-NEWS-301019979&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mh-alert

 

the bill offsets the cost of a one-year patch to the sustainable growth-rate formula through reductions to other Medicare programs, most of which affect hospitals. For instance, a documentation-and-coding adjustment that seeks to recoup past overpayments to hospitals because of the shift to Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups, or MS-DRGs, would save about $10.5 billion. A measure to re-price end-stage renal disease payments would save about $4.9 billion. That provision comes a few weeks after the Government Accountability Office released a report suggesting the federal government is over-paying for end-stage renal disease treatment. The bill also calls for re-basing Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, which is estimated to save about $4.2 billion.

 

Providers criticized the legislation, with Chip Kahn, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, noting in a statement that it's not in the best interests of patients or caregivers to “rob hospital Peter to pay for fiscal cliff Paul.”

 

AHA President and CEO Richard Umbdenstock struck a similar note. “While fixing the physician payment formula is essential, it should not be done by jeopardizing hospitals' ability to care for seniors and their communities,” Umbdenstock said in a statement (PDF). “That's why we are very disappointed at the approach taken in this measure.”

 

Speaking on behalf of the nation's safety net providers, Dr. Bruce Siegel, president and CEO of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (PDF), said the agreement will put at risk the essential healthcare needs for the country's most vulnerable citizens. “Solving one side of the provider equation must not come at the expense of the other—particularly the hospitals and health systems that care for a disproportionate share of Medicare and other low-income patients,” Siegel said.

[A1CAMERON]

Administration at my hospital is reluctant to utilize PAs. They believe they cannot get the same revenue as a physician. Apples to apples, sure. But, in the long run perhaps it makes more sense to utilize PAs.

 

Now, I wonder if it impacts that view more.