ASA Urges MedPAC to Reject Plan to Cut Specialist Payments

The American Society of Anesthesiologists has urged the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to reject an SGR plan that would cut reimbursement to specialty physicians by nearly 18 percent over three years, according to an ASA release.

In a letter written to MedPAC in response to the proposed plan, ASA President Mark A. Warner, MD, strongly opposed the commission's draft recommendation, saying that cutting payment for anesthesia by 5.9 percent over the next three years would harm patient access to care.

The proposed 10-year plan would differentiate specialty physicians from primary care physicians on decisions about Medicare payments. The draft recommendation would reduce payments for specialty physicians by 5.9 percent annually in 2012, 2013 and 2014, followed by payment freezes for the final seven years. Primary care would be exempt from payment reductions and would be instead frozen at 2011 levels for the entire decade.

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