In addition to the previous post this should also be taken as the pill that Congress wants you to swollow:
"The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Serivces (CMS) has proposed drastic cuts in the reimbursement for out-patient imaging procedures including nuclear stress tests. CAT/MRI scans and cardiac catheterizations procedures. These cuts will financially paralyze the office of your cardiologists and many of them will be forced not only refuse Medicare patients, but also leave the state of Florida altogether.
Your access to healthcare, especially cardiovascular care will be severely limited and this rationing of health care forced upon you by the Medicare cuts will leave you with no other alterative but to go to the hospital for any and all of your health care. This will lead to:
-Increased out of pocket expense for you, since your co pay for procedures will be more than 5 times compared ot office procedures.
-Increased wait times for procedures to be scheduuled.
-Increased length of stay in the hospital which will again increase the hospital expenses and your co pay.
There are only about 850 cardiologists currently practicing full time in Florida. If Medicare cuts come into effect, many of these skilled and knowledgeable cardiologists will leave the state altogether and the access to specialists will be limited and the quality of your health care will be severely compromised.
These Medicare cuts are going to completely criple your cardivascular services as well as other specialties and severely affect your healthcare.
We need you to stand with us to prevent these dreatic measures...."
If not now...when? If not us...Who..? Contact your repreentative and stop this erosion of skilled medical treatments.
The consequences sound a lot like the UK..!!