It may appear to some that health care reform has been knocked off track. We feel that it has been saved and knocked back on track. The bills that were looming in Congress were partisan, idiological, secretive, full of special interest deals and viewed negatively by a majority of Americans. I blogged earlier about health care reform fatigue. I am excited again about prospects as I think a lot of other physicians and patients are. Now that the politicians have had a reality check we can have an open, transparent and bipartisan debate.

A proposal currently on the table is to save 450 billion over the ten years by eliminating “medicare fraud and abuse”. The politicians make it sound like there are legions of criminals out there stealing from the medicare system. The truth is that medicare pays less than what it costs to take care of a patient and every single hospital and doctor is constantly trying to figure out how to get paid better. It has been a back and forth struggle for decades. Medicare cuts payment for a particular code. Doctors find a better code. But the politicians then will say that there are doctors who are billing for deceased patients. It does happen but it is rare and it is now worth punishing every doctor for.

If the government cuts 450 billion from medicare over the next ten years the burden will be placed mostly on good and decent doctors and hospitals who are taking care of medicare patients.