If Medicare Cuts Reimbursement by 21.2%...
As the clock keeps ticking, many doctors are assuming that these cuts won't happen. Those less optimistic are figuring out what to do if the worst-case scenario – what some have called a Medicare “Armaggedon” – does happen.
The fact is, if Medicare cuts become reality, doctors will lose. Many will make the difficult decision to stop seeing Medicare patients entirely. But Medicare represents 50-70% of most physicians' business income. They would risk losing most of their patients. Yet, some doctors are already limiting their Medicare cases by reducing available appointment times and pushing appointments off for several weeks to dissuade Medicare patients from coming at all.
Some experts believe that doctors will abandon Medicare and commercial contracts tied to Medicare. And many of those doctors will gravitate to a simpler, no-insurance, fee-for-service practice model. Others may build a retainer model in the hope of better controlling high patient volumes. Of course, your practice demographics will largely determine whether you can support your practice with cash-only patients.
Sadly, most doctors will not have this option.
You would be well advised to systematically review your billing and collections procedures. Check the timing of your accounts receivable, the percentage of your claims being denied, the frequency of claims resubmissions and your collections. Research shows that most practices lose significant amounts of money from poor billing, coding and collections practices. Make sure you're checking all your money sources and collecting from all that you can.