Doc Fix Blamed On Doctors
The American Medical Association will launch a multi-million-dollar ad campaign tomorrow to heighten pressure on Congress for a doc-fix bill. The American College of Physicians (ACP) reacted by calling for doctors to contact their member of Congress directly to let their voices be heard. Robert Centor, FACP, called for doctors to protest as well. (American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, DB’s Rants)
Meanwhile, a Florida medical society predicts a crisis in that senior-laden state. The society cited but did not name eight primary care doctors who’ve stopped accepting Medicare patients this year, and 12 cardiologists who left private practice for employment elsewhere because of already reduced payments. Unbelievably, business columnist Steven Pearlstein sorted through the issues around the doc fix, and concluded that it’s the docs that need fixing for paying themselves generous salaries. (Naples News, The Washington Post)
Medical residency
Are student-doctors students, or doctors? It will take the U.S. Supreme Court to decide. Social Security exempts students who work as part of their education. The Treasury Department took that away from medical students who work more than 40 hours per week.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
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