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To physicians,
the danger is about as clear and present as it could possibly
get: Unless something changes sharply by January 2006, your
reimbursement will dive off a cliff.
Because
Congress has boosted physician pay in recent years without
fixing the underlying formula which normally determines
docs' pay rates, observers expect Medicare to slash physician
pay by roughly 5 percent each year from 2006 to 2012. The
only hope is for Congress to adjust the formula before then.
But
don't expect Congress to move quickly to solve this nightmare,
Capitol Hill sources tell PBI. The returning Congress will
have a number of other priorities ahead.
The
first opportunity for Congress to discuss the looming disaster
will come in February, when legislators will hold hearings
on the president's proposed budget for the department of
Health and Human Services, according to one Hill staffer.
Expect to hear some questions about the disaster in the
making at those hearings.
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