The SGR S-U-C-K-S!

So as I transition to my PJ's I realize that there is nothing finer than this feeling. At home. Resting. What a long week it has been. Not sure why it has been so tough, aside from the fact that I need a vacation and really didn't want to be at work. My day was capped off by realizing that my government truly has let me down. Congress today failed to stop the SGR (sustainable growth rate) formula for Medicare reimbursement. So as not to bore you with the intricate details of Medicare regulations, the SGR calls for roughly a 5% cut in reimbursement to physicians per year. Nevermind that Medicare only pays roughly 35 cents for every dollar I bill. Problem is that Congress has been putting this off for the past 3 years so the effect is cumulative-by inaction today to change the SGR, I am now going to have my reimbursement from Medicare cut by 21% on Monday. Because what is good for the government must be good for private pay insurance companies, I am sure that they will follow suit soon and I am looking at probably a 21% pay cut across the board. Tell me what other business would allow this to occur? I am not sure where healthcare is headed, but pissing off the ones who deliver it is NOT a good idea. Trust me. I expect doctors to still do well, don't get me wrong. I just expect it to get ALOT worse for the patients-all because partisan politics and public grandstanding is more important to politicians. I expect elderly patients to suddenly lose their doctor because the Medicare population has now become too much of a financial liability, too much work for not enough reimbursement. I expect doctors to begin to take cash only and let the patient file their insurance-trust me, that is a nightmare physicians deal with daily and it is not for the faint of heart.

Sorry. I just got carried away there....Just really not sure what is going to happen with Medicare and this silly SGR. I do know that what Washington doesn't want is a bunch of pissed off octogenarians that still believe in their individual right to vote. Politicians know that it is political suicide to f*ck with social security and with Medicare, yet they continue to play this game of political chicken. Good luck with this one Washington. It's an election year, and I see a lot of Medicare patients....