CBO Says Medicare Physician Fee Fix More Expensive Than Previously Thought

Tags: CBO | Medicare | physician fee fix

The Congressional Budget Office increased the projected cost of a permanent physician fee fix by 25 percent, perhaps making it more difficult for Congress to justify a long-term fix rather than passing short-term patches every month or two, according to a report by Kaiser Health News.

The new CBO estimate said removing the automatic Medicare physician fee cut would cost nearly $276 billion through 2020 — a figure that is $69 billion higher than previously expected.

The revision was attributed to a higher projected rate of medical inflation due to an improved economy and a higher estimate of the number of Americans who will become Medicare-eligible.

With a 21.2 percent fee cut scheduled to take effect June 1, Congressional Democrats want to introduce a bill to delay cuts for as long as five years.

Read Kaiser Health News' report on the physician fee fix.

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