Medicare Reimbursement Cuts To Cost Texas Physicians $860 Million

Houston, TX (AHN) - Doctors in Texas are shying away from taking in new Medicare patients because of reductions in reimbursements. A recent survey by the Texas Medical Association said only 58 percent of doctors in the state now accept new Medicare patients, a significant decline from 90 percent before 1990.

Unless Congress finds a solution to the physicians' disputes with Medicare over reimbursements, the TMA said the percentage would likely go down further. By July 15, another 10.6 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements is slated, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Monday it would not process new claims until July 15 to give Congress time to block the cut.

Dr. Josie Williams, president of TMA, told the Houston Chronicle, "In my 50 years in medicine, I've not seen the level of frustration and anger out there now... Most doctors have got to the point that they don't think the real problem's ever going to be fixed and are looking at whether to continue participating."

If the 10.6 percent and another 5 percent cut slated to take effect January 2009 would not be stopped, over the next 18 months Texas doctors would lose $860 million attending to the medical needs of seniors and the disabled, the TMA estimates. It boils down to $18,000 per physician.

Texas, along with Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma have more uninsured residents compared to other regions. Collectively, 30 percent of non-elderly adults and 18 percent of children in the Southwest do not have health insurance coverage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.