Letter from the BWPO Chairman
Dear Colleagues:
The BWPO has accomplished a great deal in recent years to increase our revenues and the compensation that we can pay our physicians. In virtually all our departments and business units, our compensation levels are now on a competitive footing nationally, but we continue to face many challenges. We’ve been fortunate in recent contract negotiations with our major non-governmental payers to receive significant physician fee schedule rate lifts during the last several years. However, we cannot expect to enjoy these same rate increases in coming years.
On the federal level, our congressional leaders continue to work with physician groups on how best to address the 5.1 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements scheduled to take effect in January. While our elected leaders and physician groups continue to offer various plans to counter these anticipated rates, the future of Medicare reimbursements remains unclear and troubling.
In an ideal world, the House and Senate will replace the 5.1 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements with an increase that reflects the increase in expenses that BWPO members and practices continue to absorb. Additionally, Congress will stabilize payments and reimbursements in subsequent years. But this is far from an ideal world, and our Congressional leaders are faced with making tough decisions with limited resources. National defense, public safety, education and a host of domestic social programs are vying for their share of federal spending. It’s difficult for us to compete with these other priorities and voice our concerns.
However, we must continue to be active advocates for improved Medicare physician fees for reasons far beyond our own salaries. We’re being asked to provide more services to our patients, and this is placing more demands on our time. This could have a negative effect on our ability to practice medicine in a way that meets BWPO and BWH standards. In addition, we could see a decline in the willingness of physicians to provide pro bono services in community clinics and invest our time in potentially life-saving research. We may see a decline in our ability and desire to serve on hospital committees or contribute our time to specialty associations.
So, please pay attention to what is and what isn’t going on in Washington, D.C. Take the time to familiarize yourself with health care policy issues and share your thoughts with your own congressman and senator. Advocating for physicians is advocating for our patients.
Sincerely,
Steven Seltzer, MD
Chairman, BWPO