There’s an emerging consensus among physicians who receive Medicare reimbursements that it’s not only the strong potential for cuts on those reimbursements, not only the potential insolvency of the government program, but the way in which CMS determines what the rates of payments to providers are — and upon whose shoulders this ultimate responsibility falls.

MedPAC, which is certainly not a political action committee (PAC stands for “Payment Advisory Commission”), is the nonpartisan (created in the mid-1990′s by Republicans) council which sets schedules for payments and has the unenviable task of preventing program insolvency. Centrist Democrats want to change the ultimate authority of MedPAC, possibly giving the congress the power to accept or deny payment cuts as a check to the executive branch upon the commission’s recommendations.

Dangerous territory here — and one which is getting more consideration, as Obama has hinted at policy inclusion as part of his healthcare reform package. | LINK

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