September 20, 2006

Rockford Register Star
Letter to the Editor
Via e-mail

To the Editor:

A looming crisis threatens Rockford's Medicare beneficiaries from having access to medical care. Unless Congress takes action soon, Medicare reimbursement to providers will be reduced by more than 5 percent next year.

What do these cuts mean for our community? Medicare payments to Illinois physicians and health care professionals will be slashed by $120 million in 2007. Over the next nine years the cuts for Illinois will snowball into an unbelievable $7.6 billion. That means that the government will reimburse about $5,000 less per Medicare patient for medical services provided through 2015. During this time of reduced reimbursements, the expenses for running a medical practice are expected to increase by 22 percent.

This clash of rising costs and decreasing reimbursements could force many doctors to quit taking new Medicare patients or even stop seeing them altogether. A recent American Medical Association study shows that 45 percent of all doctors will impose some limitations on Medicare patients because of expected cuts. This could come in the form of less time spent with patients and less investment in new technologies.

There’s still time for Congress to pass legislation to stop the cuts and reflect the actual expenses required to provide medical care for our citizens. Concerned patients should know that Congressman Don Manzullo is supportive of these efforts. Please contact him to thank him for his support and let him know of the urgent need for Congress to act now. Please also contact Senators Durbin and Obama to ask for their active support.

Sincerely,

William E. Kobler, M.D.
Chair, Board of Trustees
Illinois State Medical Society

Dr. Kobler is a Rockford physician specializing in family medicine.

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