The House Ways & Means Committee last week held the second in a series of hearings on health care reform to discuss payment reform proposals. The committee discussed a variety of proposals, but of particular interest was a discussion on provider payment adequacy. Glenn Hackbarth of the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) said that although Medicare pays less than most private insurers, he does not believe Medicare rates are inadequate. In fact, he said, in some cases, private insurance is paying rates that are too high.  

Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., M.D. (R-La.), a cardiovascular surgeon, registered his dismay at Hackbarth’s assertions, saying the current Medicare payment for triple bypass surgery is less than half what it was in 1978. Morever, under the SGRrrr for the past 10 years, with practice costs increasing 2-3% a year, average physician reimbursement in Medicare is about 50% of what it was 10 years ago in ‘today’s dollars.’ 

Hello, Mr. Hackbarth: what other business sector could function in this kind of environment?