MEDICARE Doctors: Cuts are too much

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Proposed cuts in Medicare payments for cancer drugs will be nearly double Bush administration estimates, potentially limiting access to care, according to a survey of cancer doctors.
Payments from the government for some drugs will not equal the cost to most doctors, the American Society of Clinical Oncology said. It has lobbied to restore funding that would be cut under last year's Medicare prescription drug law.
The average reduction in reimbursement for the medications will be 15 percent, according to the group's analysis of pricing information provided by community oncology practices. The administration said the cuts would not exceed 8 percent on average.
Cancer doctors have said the proposal could put some practices out of business, forcing patients to get their treatment in hospitals, sometimes far from their homes.
Savings to government
Proposed changes announced in July would save the government $530 million and Medicare beneficiaries $270 million next year, said Dr. Mark McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Medicare spent $10.5 billion last year on prescription medicines administered in physician offices and clinics.
The government has been paying the physicians up to twice what they should for certain medications, the administration said. Yet the government allowed the overpayments to continue because it acknowledged that doctors were underpaid for their practice expenses, such as nurses, equipment and treatment rooms.