Medicare Cut Could Influence Patient Care

Dr. Lori Guyton said she and many of her colleagues are concerned that recent failure of federal legislation in the Senate could result in 10.6 percent cuts across the board in Medicare reimbursements owed to health care providers. “That’s a huge issue for our area,” said Guyton, who has practiced the last 11 years at Logan Professional Park in Herrin. “A lot of people are not aware of what’s happening with Medicare and how such a cut could play a critical role in payment and access to care for the elderly.” Guyton said about one-third of her practice consists of Medicare patients. A 10 percent cut in funding paid back to her by the government would mean thousands lost in the long run. That kind of a cut, she said, would be tough to swallow and could lead to drastic changes. “It could force some of us to limit the number of Medicare patients that we take,” she said. “And I don’t want to have to do that. It would change the way physicians practice medicine. There would certainly be more employee-owned physician practices.” Other physicians might have to cut staff or discontinue practices altogether. The legislation Guyton is referencing is H.R. 6331, which focuses on Medicare improvements for patients and providers. If approved, the measure would extend expiring provisions under the Medicare program to improve beneficiary access to preventive and mental health services, to enhance low-income benefit programs and to maintain access to care in rural areas, including pharmacy access. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in support of the legislation (355-59), but it failed in the Senate. A minimum of 60 votes were needed and only 58 senators voted in the affirmative, including Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama. Forty senators voted against the measure. President Bush has put a temporary freeze on the cut and the Senate may vote again on the legislation. But if another vote is held and it falls short once again, the legislation will be rendered moot and the cuts will be forthcoming.

Please click on the link below to read the Southern.com article:

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2008/07/06/front_page/25002505.txt

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Colorado: New Web Service Lists Physician Profiles

Anyone who has access to a computer now has access to background information about doctors statewide because of a new law that took effect in January. The Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act took effect Jan. 1 and requires all doctors to provide “profile” information regarding their professional and educational backgrounds. The law also requires that all applicants for medical licenses, or license renewals, provide detailed information about felony convictions, actions taken by other medical boards and hospitals, medical malpractice claim information, as well as board certifications and business ownership and employment information. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and the Colorado State Board of Medical Examiners, which regulates medical practice in Colorado, last week unveiled a new online tool called the “physician profile Web lookup.” Anyone who is interested may access physician profiles by logging on at: www.dora.state.co.us/medical. Tracey Martinez, the profile administrator, said Monday that the profiles contain only information submitted by license applicants and the information is not verified by the state medical board. Until the online profile system was created in response to the new law, doctors submitted profile information by paper to the medical board and it was shared with the public based on individual requests by phone or in writing.

Please click on the link below to read the Pueblo Chieftain article:

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/07/08/news/local/doc4872f6e9957b1566069479.txt

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Canadian Cities Use Pricey Perks to Lure Doctors

Signing bonuses. Fancy houses. Inflated salaries. They sound like the type of offers made to woo professional athletes to a team. But a growing number of Canadian communities facing a critical shortage of doctors are pulling out all the stops in a desperate attempt to lure physicians and other health-care professionals to their area. “Financial incentives like signing bonuses are quite common,” said Karl Stobbe, president of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada. “Sometimes it’s called moving expenses, sometimes it’s called a signing bonus. They’re almost expected by a lot of graduates.” On Friday, Ontario announced a new plan to address the physician shortages by lifting some restrictions on the ability of foreign-trained doctors to quickly begin practising once they come to Canada. Other provinces are also looking at ways to reduce doctor shortages and alleviate the growing pressures on the health-care system. The problem has become so serious it has created an escalating battle between cities that are now fiercely competing to lure doctors. For instance: Controversy erupted in several towns in British Columbia last month after Clearwater, a small town in the interior, began offering payments of $1,000 a day plus expenses to attract replacement doctors to work in the community on a temporary basis. The changes were widely criticized by towns such as Cache Creek, which said the incentives would set a dangerous precedent and encourage doctors to practice in the community that offered the most money. Nova Scotia’s government announced last month a $616-million package designed to reduce the shortages and entice doctors to work in remote areas. Specialists who set up a practice in rural areas will be eligible to receive a bonus of $40,000 after three years. Officials in St. Thomas, Ont., announced in March that they would pay family doctors $33,000 for each new doctor they successfully recruited to the area. In Ignace, a small town in Northern Ontario, officials bought a home worth nearly $200,000 to house doctors. David Smithson, a third-year medical student at the University of Western Ontario, said it’s common for communities to use cash at job fairs to lure new doctors to a particular area. “There definitely are financial incentives out there and I think they’re becoming more prevalent,” he said.  The problems with shortages have been getting so bad that cities such as Kelowna, B.C., had to declare a “code purple” emergency crisis in March after the emergency department was overwhelmed with too many patients.

Please click on the link below to read the Globe Life article:

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080609.wlshortages09/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.