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Editorial: Needless squeeze on outpatient care

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2001 | 8:52 a.m.

In 1999 Congress put a brake on Medicare spending. As part of that cost-cutting effort, Medicare is expected to announce in a few days that it will cut payments for high-tech outpatient procedures that have grown expensive. The cuts will apply to procedures such as chemotherapy treatments and pacemaker implementations. The result of this may be millions of patients being shifted to unnecessary overnight hospital stays as hospitals seek a way to keep the Medicare money coming in, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. Ironically, the costs for Medicare actually would rise because hospital care is much more expensive.

Congress got itself into this situation when it limited high-tech outpatient procedures to just 2.5 percent of all spending, a decision that is forcing proposed cuts, which are set to take effect Jan. 1. Instead Congress should scuttle the arbitrary cap and recognize the value of outpatient care.

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