Posted on: Friday, December 21, 2001

Island Voices
Medicare reductions can only kill services

By Bobby C. Baker
Cancer Institute of Maui president

There is a silent war occurring against our aging population and health care providers. For the last decade Medicare has continuously reduced reimbursement to physicians and hospitals to the point that many clinics have closed, physicians have moved to other areas and hospitals have cut services in order to survive.

Many clinics and physicians are considering not accepting Medicare patients because the current payments for services often do not even cover the basic cost of providing services.

Next year may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Because of the balanced budget act that was passed during the last administration, Medicare is being forced to again reduce all physician payments by 5.4 percent.

As if this was not a bomb in itself, this week the Medicare fee schedule was distributed to all clinics, including the Cancer Institute of Maui. The result was a devastating reduction of 13 percent for radiation treatment.

Medicare's excuse for this reduction is based upon their poor calculation methods that demonstrated a decrease in practice expenses that would justify these deep cuts. All of the data that is available by reputable sources indicates that practice expenses have increased by 6.2 percent last year. The mere idea of reduced practice expenses is an oxymoron.

There is a national shortage of qualified personnel to provide high tech medical care, such as radiation therapy. We have been experiencing this for the past four years. Practice expenses are significantly on the rise while Medicare's reimbursement is continuing to spiral downward.

This is leaving a gap in our system that will redefine access to care. Many clinics and hospitals will cease to offer desperately needed cancer care if these cuts are not reversed immediately. This is a serious threat to our local island community, state and nation.

Our only hope to stop this atrocity rests in the hands of our Congress. Each citizen must get directly involved and contact their congressional members now. America has received worldwide recognition for its health care delivery system and advancements. This silent war will take its toll on our society, one patient at a time, until tens of thousands have lost their lives to diseases that could have been treated and cured if access to proper care had not been destroyed.