Since US deficit ($1.2 trillion) has been going up to an uncontrollable level; sequestration was a much needed act—an idea to save cost by cutting down on budgets given to different healthcare organizations of the government.
This has definitely affected EMR incentives and Medicare payments, but this was needed to be done in order to control the deficit.  The cut is for all payments processed after April 1, 2013. Small scale healthcare practices will not feel the impact since the cut is only two percent for Medicare EHR incentives. Eligible hospitals will surely feel a big cut in their pockets.
The payment cut of Medicare is one way government is trying to control the deficit. On March 1, 2013, the Congress under the leadership of President Barack Obama started a massive campaign about government’s budget reduction. For CMS, $11.1 billion in Medicare reductions have been proposed by the Congress, with $5.8 billion in Part A reductions and $5.3 billion in Part B reductions. Another reduction for CMS of 2% is suggested for Medicare EHR Incentive Payments. For eligible professionals (EPs), the reduction for first time Medicare program participants are set to be from $15,000 to $14,700.
Medicare reduction in payments is expected to have some triggers in relation to April 1, 2013 implementation of the cuts, one of the triggers is:
·         Prosthetics and orthotics including claims under the DME Competitive Bidding Program will be subject to the 2% reduction. It will be triggered by the date of service of the start date for rental or multi-day equipment and supplies on or after April 1, 2013.
The sequestration cut has caused distress across the nation. The need to control costs by the government has been realized way back 25 years since the enacting of the Reagan-era Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA). Though the cuts will have significant impact on EHR Incentives and Medicare Payments but in the long term, the government will be able to transform the healthcare industry by making providers realize the importance of reducing costs by the use of technology, and being a part of the revival of the healthcare industry.