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CMS projects 4.6% fee reduction for 2007

Physician Practice Advisor, April 12, 2006

On April 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) outlining the 2007 sustainable growth rate and estimated physician fee schedule, which is expected be reduced by 4.6%.

The letter attributes the fee changes to growth in Medicare spending for physicians' services (e.g., evaluation and management, imaging and laboratory services, etc.), which increased by 8.5% in 2005.

The American Medical Association (AMA) released a statement criticizing the reduction, claiming it will hurt seniors' access to healthcare. "The government is asking physicians to do the impossible: Keep seeing patients and improve the quality of care, while accepting drastic cuts that don't come close to covering the cost of care," AMA Chair Duane Cady, MD, said in the statement.

Click here to read the AMA statement.

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