AMA speaks out about cuts to Medicare

With Congress poised to cut 30% of Medicare's budget for the 2011 year, many doctors and associations are reaching out and asking Congress to reevaluate their budget cuts. According to DotMed News, The cuts will leave many doctors underfunded, with little capital to pay their employees salaries and invest in cutting edge technology that will aid their care of patients.

The letter the AMA sent to Congress included:
"[T]hese steps did not protect physician practices from all the consequences of the repeated Congressional delays. Many practices were forced to seek loans to meet payroll expenses, lay off staff or cancel capital improvements and investments in electronic health records and other technology. Furthermore, when payments resumed, many physicians experienced long delays in receiving retroactive adjustments."

Can the US public afford to have Congress cut funding for Medicare?

Medicare changes with overhaul

According to a recent article at MSNBC, between 2010 and 2030, Medicare patients will rise from 46 million to 78 million. In this time period, Medicare will continue to be underfunded. In order for Medicare to come out even right now, the tax on Medicare will have to go up 134% or Medicare spending will have to go down 53%. Read the article here for an in-depth look at how spending will have to change in order for Medicare to sustain itself.