Editorial: Medicare crunch

Waco Tribune-Herald
March 26, 2008

 

As with almost everything else in the federal budget, fiscal restraint is in order . That certainly applies to Medicare, which is headed to a solvency crisis along with Social Security.

That said, unless funding for Medicare keeps pace with needs, it's going to become less and less likely for recipients to find a doctor.

That's increasingly the problem with a faulty formula to reimburse physicians.

Physicians have not had a payment increase under Medicare that kept up with expenses since 2001. Consequently, more and more are turning away Medicare recipients.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, recently introduced a bill to address the declining reimbursement rate for Medicare physicians.

While we examine ways to limit spending across the board, seniors should not be locked out of health care because Medicare hasn't kept pace with costs.