MedPAC Says Medicare Should Give Docs 1% Raise in 2011

An agency that advises Congress about the Medicare program recommended last week that physicians receive a 1% pay hike in 2012 so that they would be motivated to continue treating seniors.

However, Congress does not necessarily act on the advice of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).

The agency also had proposed a 1% raise for 2011, but Congress froze reimbursement this year at 2010 levels as part of the latest "doc fix" for the crisis triggered by the government's sustainable growth rate formula. That formula, created by Congress in 1997 to set Medicare reimbursement rates, called for a 25% cut effective January 1. Congress voted in December to postpone the reduction for a year, and to keep rates flat in the meantime.

MedPAC had first floated the idea of a 1% raise in 2012 Medicare rates for physicians last month. According to the draft recommendation, the modest increase was needed to maintain patient access to physicians, who presumably would be less likely to treat Medicare patients if rates stagnated.