AMGA is calling on Congress to delay 10 percent cuts to Medicare, citing its recent survey that found health systems would have to make tough decisions like layoffs and hiring freezes.
Providers are facing a pending 2 percent Medicare sequester cut, 4 percent Medicare Pay-As-You-Go reduction and a 3.75 percent decrease in the Medicare conversion factor, according to an Oct. 13 press release emailed to Becker's.
The survey was conducted from Aug. 30 to Sept. 8 and had 92 health system respondents. The results found:
- 43 percent are considering hiring freezes and delays
- 37 percent are considering elimination of services
- 25 percent are considering furlough/layoff of nonclinical staff
- 22 percent are considering not accepting new Medicare patients
"The pandemic already has inflicted a toll on healthcare organizations and patients, and we are not at the end of it," said AMGA President and CEO Jerry Penso, MD. "It will take years for our healthcare system and our communities to recover. Providers need financial stability, not cuts, to survive in the present."