Possible Pay Cut for Docs?
Physicians who don't implement an EHR are looking at a possible pay cut of 10 percent when it comes to treating their Medicare patients, according to the Bush administration.
Reported by Yahoo news, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to weigh in later this week on how to pay for offsetting the cut, which some estimates put at $8 billion for a 1-year fix. Congress has stepped in and headed off similar cuts in previous years.
But according to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt, the onus is now on doctors.
"The benefits of utilizing health information technology for keeping electronic health records and other purposes are clear. This technology will produce a higher quality of care, while reducing medical costs and errors, which kill more Americans each year than highway accidents, breast cancer or AIDS. Congressional leaders are working on legislation to address Medicare's physician payment system, staving off a reduction in reimbursement rates that is set to take effect in January and is required by law," Leavitt said. "In my view, any new bill should require physicians to implement health information technology that meets department standards in order to be eligible for higher payments from Medicare. Such a requirement would accelerate adoption of this technology considerably, and help to drive improvements in health care quality as well as reductions in medical costs and errors."
So what do you think? Is the only way to get EHRs implemented across the country through the doctors' wallets?