 Medicare physician payment rates have always been a bone of contention, with the physicians and medical professionals on the one side of the debate adamant that pay cuts may decrease Medicare costs, yet in the end the patients will suffer. Recently, Democrats have considered freezing and rolling back physician pay cuts in order to win support from the doctors for the overall health care plan. Cinergy Health: if the pay cuts for physicians go ahead, it will spell disaster for the Medicare system. If physicians are paid less for their Medicare patients, they will simply reduce the number of patients they see through Medicare, severely curtailing the efficiency of Medicare. Furthermore, studies show that 15% of doctors would leave Medicare altogether. |