{"id":259,"date":"2011-08-30T07:14:26","date_gmt":"2011-08-30T07:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcodersblog.com\/?p=259"},"modified":"2014-08-14T07:34:41","modified_gmt":"2014-08-14T07:34:41","slug":"impact-of-federal-debt-ceiling-on-medicare-payments-to-physicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/impact-of-federal-debt-ceiling-on-medicare-payments-to-physicians\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact of Federal Debt Ceiling on Medicare Payments to Physicians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Debt ceiling on Federal Debt<\/strong> is a perennial topic for debate in the US healthcare scenario. Debt ceiling or Debt limit is the brink to which U.S. Federal Government can raise debts to fund its budgetary allocation. Although there have been instances in the past that allowed for raising debts well over the statutory limit, yet the present scenario is such that it has put a question mark over the Federal Government\u2019s ability to borrow. Consequently, despite the talk of an additional $2.2 trillion borrowing through governmental securities, the fear of imminent debt ceiling effects across the spectrum of healthcare industry looms large.<\/p>\n

With the national debt having approached its statutory limit of $14.29 trillion, there is an imminent set of repercussion waiting to engulf the Federal Government\u2019s economic sectors. As the eventual debt ceiling is going to trigger off default or delay in payments to Federal Government commitments, there is a growing degree of anxiety among interest-groups: creditors, beneficiaries, vendors; military staff, social security and Medicare, and unemployed beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

Among the many interest-groups that are likely to be impacted by the Debt ceiling, Healthcare sector \u2013 which accounts for a majority of share in the Federal Budget \u2013 is going to feel the heat more. Consequently, its stakeholders \u2013 physicians\/hospitals, patients, insurance carriers, and medical billing<\/a> professionals will all be forced to rethink their operational efficiency to stave off the negative impact of Debt ceiling.<\/p>\n

Federal Government, already faced with the impending Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) problem, will be pushed to float unprecedented radical reforms to its popular Medicare and Medicaid programs, such as<\/p>\n