Dr. Baraf doesn’t expect to see many rheumatology groups opt out of Medicare because they need the referrals. “Those physicians don’t want to hear, ‘Dr. Jones won’t see their patients,’ ” he says. “If confronted with this, they are less likely to send any of their patients to you.”
And, if Congress applies another band-aid or bumps the decision making to the next Congress?
“We’ll roll with the punches,” Dr. Schweitz says. “We’ll have to take it as it comes. These are huge decisions that impact your whole practice character and revenue.
“I think Congress is starting to see there is a threat of access denial,” he added. “That’s one reason I’m somewhat optimistic that this problem will continue to have repeated short-term fixes.”
Sue Pondrom is a medical journalist based in San Diego.