Not too late to address Medicare shortfall, says AMA (American Medical Association)
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Erroneous data used in 1998 and 1999 to set Medicare payment levels are the fault of the administration, which, contrary to its claims, does have the power to correct the errors and restore vital funding - up to $62bn - to the health plan. So says the American Medical Association, whose chairman Tim Flaherty argues that seniors are having to pay for the mistakes of the administration, and that payment cuts being forced on doctors and hospitals mean they are less able to accept new Medicare patients. The origin of the errors was described in May by former HCFA (now CMS) chief counsel Terry Coleman.