When are we going to have the willpower to REALLY fix the healthcare system in this country? Single payer would be so much cheaper than what we do today AND give everyone better care. But, no, we have to be "non-socialist" and stupid.

Thank you so much, GOP, for putting in misguided “sustainable growth rate” (SGR) cuts in 1993 without thinking through the consequences. Doesn't look like you've learned much in the last 17 years.

Sorry, that was 1997. So you've only had 13 years to wise up. Still not happening.

Oh what a surprise. Put off once again, but early next year I predict the same headlines: Doctors' Reimbursements to be cut 25%!" When will congress get the cojones to do what is necessary to fix this recurrent idiot problem, rather than creating a crisis for the whole health care system every 3-6 months. As I recall hospitals and doctors actually help people, a lot of times without being paid for it. Is there anywhere else that this is done? If this were an insurance company problem, it would have been FIXED by not even allowing it to get started in the first place.

At one time hospitals were considered somewhat sacred, because they help the sick. However, like our young people, there is a lot of talk about how necessary they are and valued, then they are treated like dirt. I really can't imagine why this keeps happening, but since it does, I can only conclude that Congress and people in general really don't care what happens to the health care system. But I think that is because most people are just clueless about what would happen if it were to fail, just like when all those investment firms failed. However, investment firms legally are only required to look out for themselves, but hospitals are required by law to care for certain people, even if they have no money. However, those investment firms got bailed out and their CEO's are now back to their millions of dollars bonuses, while hospitals get cut, cut, cut. Is there something wrong with this? I think so, but apparently most people don't agree or just don't care....until they need a hospital, then they are screaming about their rights.

Some doctors in this area (Little Rock AR) are no longer accepting new medicare patients

May we discuss the problem and not just other's opinion about the problem.

Let's ask ourselves a couple of questions. Each of us will have different answers; however, it is the way to start to build a consensus.

#1.) How much money do you want to spend on medical care? (For most of us, I think it is as little as possible.. since medicine is usually associated with sickness, pain and death.) If you earn the median household income - $49.7k (1/2 people earn more and 1/2 earn less) and spend the average amount for medical costs, (it is $17k for family coverage). That's 34% of your income going for medicine.....which is not practical. (This is when you don't have insurance and you don't go to a doctor.)

Use your own personal income as a guide.... Currently the US is spending about 17 - 18%% of GDP on medical costs.

#2.) If you believe in budgeting and sticking to it....then you have to forgo some coverage... liposuction isn't usually covered by medical insurance and most of us agree it shouldn't be; but, what about expensive end-of-life treatments?...much harder question; but, it is a real life decision that somebody has to make.....we just need to decide who the somebody is.

#3) Do you think that all US citizens should receive all treatments without regard to their ability to pay or, do you feel that it should be free-market driven and only those that can afford the care get it? Keep in mind that if you choose a market based system only.....that wealthy non-us citizens can come to the US and buy the better care than most of us can't afford. Are you OK with that?

Just ask yourself what makes sense? Maybe we have to compromise and say neither extreme will work?

Business as usual for Congress....punt the hard stuff to the next Congress. Above all, don't anger the grossly overpaid drug executives, malpractice insurance executives, medical device manufacturer and distributer executives and so forth....

Another blow to the federal budget, more increases to the deficit, and another lie tied to health care "reform"

caqnada has a good health care system there people live longer than ours so whos the deluded person. ill bet your republican .

The lame-duck Congress punts the Medicare reimbursement to the next Congress. When the new Congress takes it up, the Democrats will use every tactic available to stall action, especially in the Senate. Then when the cuts drop into effect, they will blame the Republicans since the Republicans have the majority.

Who gets hurt? The primary care doctors and their patients.

Who does not get hurt? The grossly overpaid executives of those drug companies, medical device companies, insurance companies and so forth, who donated heavily to both the Democrats and the Republicans!

Too many libs don't understand simple economics. Admittedly, they like the sound of things costing less. Everyone does, but that's not reality. You can't just lower the amount paid to doctors. As it is now, a lot of doctors are dropping medicare patients because of the low reimbursement rates and the hassles trying to collect. That means that they don't want to pay out of their pockets to treat medicare patients. It's as simple as that. If it costs you more to provide a service than you are getting paid, you lose.

The libs previous solution to the problem was HMOs. That worked for a while. Then politicians and activists got involved when services were restricted and things that regular insurance covered weren't covered by HMOs. Duhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! You get what you pay for. If you want the best care, pay for it yourself. If you don't, then you take what others give you.

No single payer system in the world will provide first class service to everyone. The only thing that happens is everyone's care suffers. You want cheap medical care, hire a janitor. Heck, even a lot of them would cost more than some people would want to pay.

I am a primary care physician in a small town in Michigan. 75% of my practice is Medicare, a program which I have participated with for over 25 years. If congress allows a cut in the neighborhood of 25% in reimbursement, I will not be able to keep my doors open under my current opperating status. I, along with most others will be forced either not to paricipate with Medicare, will need to limit new medicare patients into my practice, or consider other forms of practice (hospitalist for example) or alternative career endevors. I do not think I will be alone in this matter.

In nations such as Canada, France or Britian, primary care physicians are appreciated and proportionately get a larger share of reimbursement tnan experianced here in our United States. Currently, in our country, physicians in training in Internal Medicine residencies, in over 70% of the time, do NOT go into primary care, but go on to do fellowships in subspecialties such as cardiology, pulmonology, GI etc where, once in practice, they get larger reimbursement, have less night call and weekend call. This country has a definate and worsening shortage of primary care physicians, worsening every year, and will accelerate if the medicare cuts with the current formula takes affect.

I would urge you not to be laxidazical about this but let your senators and representative know that primary care physicians (family physicians, general internists, pediatricians) should be recruited while in training, and financially appreciated by federally funded programs to sustain an adequate supply of well trained primary care for our nation, which is about to go through a burgeoning explosion of seniors as the baby boomers come of senior age. Again with the new Obama program, there will be an even greater, accelerated need for primary care physicians. Let's avoid a crisis, in shortage of primary care in the United States, a country by all rights should have the best medical system in the world

There are already cut before the suggested cut of Medicare. There are problems of MD not accepting any Medicare patients and the Medicare is already cut the Podiatrist care.

Another month...wonderful....I guess if I'm going to get sick(er), it'd better be soon.

Isn't that just ducky! The AARP that still supports Obamacare now pretends that they didn't know doctors would be required to take a 23% paycut OR stop seeing new patients. (They also chose to ignore the fact that FEWER people would become doctors in the future!)

Wouldn't it be grand - or FAIR - as Congress likes to say, that THEY TOO would have acccess ONLY to Obamacare while serving and in retirement?

Fat chance!

The republican congress of 1997 voted for the Balanced Budget Act that required the 25% cut in medicare. In 2009, 172 republican representatives voted against extending the current rate of doctor reimbursment that was scheduled to take effect Jan 2010. The extension was passed by the dems in 2009. Just recently, the current dem congress voted to extend the current rate of reimbursement that was to be cut in Jan 2011. Since it was the republicans that passed the bill in 1997 that is to cut reimbursement for Doctors with medicare patients, let them be the ones to enforce it.

Reading that article and seeing the statement that doctors were threatening not to take Medicare patients if the bill went through.....You know the AMA has had too much power for too long.I bet the Nurse Practioners and Chiropractors wouldnt threated to NOT TAKE MEDICARE patients ...This is unacceptable behavior and someone needs to take the AMA off its high horse .....Bring on Sally Field ..BRING ON NORMA RAE...The AMA sickens me allowing such inapproprate statements and threatening Medicare patients health by protesting ...Sick sick sick..

JCPLM,

May I call you Doctor? With all due respect, as I am sure of my repect you are due..There are many PCP that FAIL to listen to their patients, make no attempt to find a cause of the symptoms presented by their patients, and many times act as though they really don't give a @!$%#! I have seen this alll to often. And a shortage of PCP's which in turn is causing the ones whom are in practice to overbook is a crockk as well...When I am sitting in the waiting room for 30 minutes (after scheduled appt.) and I watch one sometimes two pharm. reps waltz right on in , like they own the place (as if). Every time I see this its like a slap in the face, like my physician is saying "you are no one, so what you made an appointment, you will just have to wait,.Its not like you have better things to do anyways"...And then when I am finally seen, it is rushed and alll the PCP does is shove a slip of paper at me, which as it turns out is a script for the "latest" meds. the very meds that the drug pushers before me just "educated" him on. So, forgive me sir, if you feel underappreciated or disrespected, its not a good feeling, I know..And as for feeling as though you are under-compensated, is that an issue with medicare or one our fed.gov't to address, or are your drug dealers taking too big of a cut. Our health care is, after all, run by big pharma....You and I both know that

Canada has a better health care system?  You've obviously never lived there.  My mother-in-law's sister was Canadian.  She was on the wait list to receive a simple heart valve replacement when she died.  She had been on the wait list for three years.  That's right, three years.  She died due to heart complications.  All she needed was the surgery.  Canada and Europe ration their health care, unlike America. 

until you band healtcare lobbist and Co from funding the elections, nothing will change. Change the election law to be the max of 2000.00 per legal American Citizen is allowed to donate to a campain. No Corporation or group of a Corportation may donate over a max of 5000.00 durning a specific election cycle. ALL donations must be fully disclosed and all donation must be used within the state of the party providing the donations. No person or group may donate to any election member or party outside of persons home legally listed state. this should cut down all the BS and hidding of monies to members for one state to another, this would all those elected to actually care and not have to just go along with the payback vote becuase "we funded your election". It would take Corporations out of the control of DC and truly bring back to the US citizens. Isn't about time we get a voice? why would you vote for anybody spending millions on a election, but in thier speechs say there going to reduce the debt and increase transpernticy? how that possible when they spending 10 millions to get elected and will not account for every penny they recieved and from whom it was recieved??? the only people that get rich off elections are media companys and marketing companys and so called "consultants" it's all BS and in the end we the little people get screwed again. Thanks

Wake up America our country is being robbed. Look around you your freedom is being lost one thing at a time. I feel sorry for those of you who will wake up too late to save yourselves or your children. Only God can save us now! Thank You God for allowing us to live in this FREE country as long as you have! God Bless America and have Mercy on this wonderful country YOU have given us and forgive us for abusing it. Harold & Carol Guille

 Unfortunately, the health care solutions we need are complex and resemble a jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps beyond the comprehension of most folks who focus on a tiny piece of the picture that they dislike or distrust. Out goverment is so preoocupied with the parties throwing invectives at each other, that no one has the time to educate the public. If we are to let private insurance companies participate and if the goal is to have everyone covered with a basic health plan, then an individual mandate is a must to spread the risk, Canada hides the individual mandate by calling it "taxes" and taking over the whole system. Its still an individual madate, its just woven into the tax code and essentially the premium is "means adjusted" in the form of a progressive income tax.

I prefer the American version since I have already seen the reckless budget slashing and fee cutting that an irresponsible congress can pull off. I would rather take my chance negotiating with insurance companies (unless they are monopolies)

MLC

dropping dr reimbursement by 23% is a joke, medicare already pays horribly, therefore many doctors won't accept it, if they drop it anymore it will force many doctors with high overheads to stop taking it all together.

You are going to cut the benefits of the people who built this country. SHAME ON YOU!! Cut the dead-wood in the Senate and Congress and look beyond to the benefits that they have. They should have the same as everyone -- then they might understand!!