Politicking Their Way To Higher Medicare Costs

Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo reports that the American Medical Association Political Action Committee just donated nearly $300,000 to Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.)'s campaign.

That comes as no surprise. Even if her campaign wasn't in trouble, the docs have a lot to thank her for. Johnson has been leading the charge to increase reimbursements for physicians under Medicare. She held hearings a few months back on the inadequacy of oncologist payments. If Republicans maintain control of the House, the physicians who dumped big bucks into her campaign will be expecting payback.

The physicians' lobby isn't just betting on the outcome of the election. In recent weeks, they've launched a massive lobbying blitz for higher Medicare reimbursements. Letters-to-the-editor are appearing all over the country warning that physicians will refuse to see new Medicare patients unless the payments schedule goes up.

Oncologists in particular are upset because they can no longer mark up the price of cancer drugs. Medicare has always paid for drugs administered in physicians' offices. Most cancer drugs fall into this category and physicians made a huge share of their earnings off the mark-ups. But the 2003 prescription drug act ended that system, which had been the target of Democrats and Health and Human Service Department auditors for a generation.

The past few years, the Republican Congress compensated them for their lost mark-ups by creating a phony demonstration project. But there's nothing in the hopper for next year yet. When billions are at stake, a few hundred thousand at campaign time is a small price to pay.