ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA– Mayo Clinic scrambled to blunt criticism over its decision to stop accepting Medicare patients at a facility in Glendale, Arizona.
A post on Mayo’s Health Policy blog said some media reports incorrectly reported the organization was not seeing any Medicare patients in the state. Instead, Mayo’s decision impacts patients who see “only primary care office visits for the five Mayo family practice physicians at this site.”
You know the hospital means business when it breaks out the italics.
Yet the organization devotes the rest of the rather lengthy entry explaining why it loses money on Medicare patients.
“Decades of underfunding and paying for volume rather than value in Medicare have led us to this decision. Providers who do fewer unnecessary tests and services are paid the least, and they are the doctors and hospitals which will go out of business first if we don’t change the payment system.”
Mayo sounds pretty resolute to me. I also doubt Glendale will be the only facility to face cutbacks.
“This is one of several options we are exploring to address the Medicare shortfall situation,” the blog says.
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[...] Mayo in full damage control mode over Medicare decision (medcitynews.com) [...]
Comment by Health Care Quake: Mayo Dropping Medicare — January 6, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
If you wanted to be honest with your readers, you would also include how Mayo explains how the current house and senate bills contain provisions towards fixing the problems that causes Mayo to lose money on Medicare. They also state: Mayo Clinic remains firmly committed to reform because the status quo is not sustainable. It’s amazing that they would actually WANT to put themselves out of business by advocating for reform. Then again, I’m sure you’re confident that your audience doesn’t do any research for themselves.
Comment by Alice — January 8, 2010 @ 3:10 pm
[...] ♦   Mayo Clinic scrambled this week to blunt criticism over its decision to stop accepting Medicare patients at a facility in Glendale, Arizona. A post [...]
Comment by Mayo Clinic smart phone application, Medicare decision, diabetes strategy top week’s news — MedCity Weekend Rounds, Jan. 9, 2010 : MedCity News — January 11, 2010 @ 7:20 am
[...] care doctors when she praises a Mayo Clinic-affiliated practice in Arizona’s decision to stop seeing Medicare patients. It’s surely a problem for primary care physicians, the backbone of the nation’s health [...]
Comment by Don’t pass the salt: MedCity Morning Read, Jan. 12, 2009 : MedCity News — January 12, 2010 @ 8:38 am
[...] to stop seeing Medicare patients at one of its primary care facilities in Glendale, Arizona. The hospital defended itself, arguing it was losing “a substantial amount of money” every year because the cost of [...]
Comment by Minnesota health care firms crank up the heat on Congress last year : MedCity News — January 22, 2010 @ 5:53 pm
[...] reimbursement formulas to reward quality instead of volume. Mayo, which recently decided to stop accepting Medicare patients at one of its primary care facilities in Glendale, Ariz., has suggested it will cut back more [...]
Comment by Mayo Clinic raises $1.35 billion in philanthropic campaign : MedCity News — January 27, 2010 @ 2:47 pm
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