PLATTSBURGH — Potential cuts in Medicare payments under consideration in Congress could have a traumatic impact on hospital outpatient services across the region.
The House of Representatives has already passed a payroll-tax bill that includes cuts in payments hospitals would receive for Medicare patients in hospital-run clinics, and the legislation is now being considered by a conference committee of both House and Senate members before the measure is voted on by both chambers and submitted to President Barack Obama if passed.
"We are very concerned about this proposal," said CVPH Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer Stephens Mundy. "These cuts could mean $800,000 (in lost Medicare payments annually) to CVPH and $200,000 to Elizabethtown (Community Hospital.) I don't know specifically what it would mean to patient care, but it will affect patients coming into our primary-care clinics and the (FitzPatrick) Cancer Center."
Medicare is the federally-funding program that supports the nation's senior citizens, which represents a large percentage of the patients who visit the primary-care clinic and Cancer Center, Mundy noted.
As well, Medicare provides coverage for those who are disabled.
'DRACONIAN CUTS'
"Hospitals in rural and urban areas across the state bend over backwards to meet the health-care needs of upstate New York," said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer in a press release opposing the legislation.
He said it would cost upstate New York hospitals more than $494 million over the next 10 years.
"These cuts would pull the rug right out from underneath them, and I will do all I can to beat it back."
"I really want to give credit to Senator Schumer for leading the charge and working with other Congressional representatives to make sure this doesn't get passed," Mundy said.
The House-passed bill would cut payments hospitals receive for outpatient clinics, and the funds saved would prevent a 27.4 percent cut in the Medicare physician-reimbursement rate.
"We don't need to rob Peter to pay Paul to ensure that providers are paid appropriately by Medicare," Schumer said in the release. "I strongly urge my friends in the House and Senate to abandon these draconian cuts and protect upstate New York hospitals."
'SIGNIFICANT CONCERN'
In the North Country alone, the proposed cuts could translate into more than $40.5 million to nine hospitals over the next decade.
Joe Riccio, spokesperson for Adirondack Medical Center, said the measure could translate into $303,000 annually for the hospital's outpatient clinics.
"You're talking about people who utilize our facilities who are under insured or uninsured," he said. "This is a significant concern for providing people access to critical health care. We definitely want to see a solution to physician reimbursements, but it shouldn't be on the backs of hospitals and outpatient clinics."
Riccio also praised Schumer's stance against the legislation.
'FUNDS ARE KEY'
Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone would also lose significant funds for its outpatient clinics if the legislation is passed.
"A $3,124,000 Medicare-funding cut over a 10-year period to offset the cost of the physician-fee schedule would have a significant impact on Alice Hyde Medical Center," said Chris Frauenhofer, vice president of finance/operations there.
"This cut would impair our ability to provide services at our current level of access.
"Furthermore, this would result in a reduction of labor, a reduction in necessary clinical equipment replacement and investment, as well as curtail services currently available locally."
Medicare reimbursements for outpatient services already fail to cover the full cost of providing patient care, reimbursing only 90 cents for every dollar of care provided. Adding to that problem by reducing the Medicare payments hospitals receive could seriously harm outpatient clinics across the state, Schumer noted.
"These funds are key to making sure hospitals in upstate's rural, suburban and urban areas can continue to provide the health-care services New Yorkers deserve," he said.
Email Jeff Meyers at: jmeyers@pressrepublican.com
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