Healthcare groups are beginning to inundate the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, more commonly known as the supercommittee, with appeals to save their portions of Medicare and Medicaid, according to a Connecticut Mirror report.
The Joint Select Committee must find at least $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years, and Medicare and Medicaid are primed for roughly $320 billion of those cuts.
According to the report, most branches of healthcare are lobbying to keep their shares of federal reimbursement. The American Hospital Association, which had previously argued against all cuts for Medicare, is lobbying for the bare minimum of cuts to federal reimbursements.
The American Medical Association and other physician groups are lobbying the committee to repeal the sustainable growth rate. If the SGR is not repealed, it will cut physician payments by 29.4 percent starting Jan. 1, 2012, and if it is repealed, Medicare spending on physician services would increase by roughly $300 billion over the next decade.
The National Association for Home Care and Hospice is advocating against co-pays for home healthcare services, and healthcare consumer groups, such as Families USA, are advocating against Medicaid cuts altogether. The American Association of Retired Persons is also lobbying against any increase in the Medicare enrollment age.
According to the report, the numerous messages and lobbying efforts could result in the supercommittee not coming to an agreement, which would result in sequestration, or "trigger" cuts. In this instance, the triggered cuts would not touch Medicaid and would cap Medicare cuts at 2 percent, which many believe could be the most beneficial to most healthcare groups.
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The Joint Select Committee must find at least $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years, and Medicare and Medicaid are primed for roughly $320 billion of those cuts.
According to the report, most branches of healthcare are lobbying to keep their shares of federal reimbursement. The American Hospital Association, which had previously argued against all cuts for Medicare, is lobbying for the bare minimum of cuts to federal reimbursements.
The American Medical Association and other physician groups are lobbying the committee to repeal the sustainable growth rate. If the SGR is not repealed, it will cut physician payments by 29.4 percent starting Jan. 1, 2012, and if it is repealed, Medicare spending on physician services would increase by roughly $300 billion over the next decade.
The National Association for Home Care and Hospice is advocating against co-pays for home healthcare services, and healthcare consumer groups, such as Families USA, are advocating against Medicaid cuts altogether. The American Association of Retired Persons is also lobbying against any increase in the Medicare enrollment age.
According to the report, the numerous messages and lobbying efforts could result in the supercommittee not coming to an agreement, which would result in sequestration, or "trigger" cuts. In this instance, the triggered cuts would not touch Medicaid and would cap Medicare cuts at 2 percent, which many believe could be the most beneficial to most healthcare groups.
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Medicaid Directors Urge Supercommittee to Increase Medicaid FlexibilityTired of Being Targeted, Healthcare Organizations Design Their Own Plan to Trim Medicare Deficit
Analyst: Healthcare Better Off Under Automatic Cuts Than Super Committee