Dean Valerie Parisi of Wayne States School of Medicine, along with six other deans of major medical schools in Michigan, signed her name to an opinion piece on Congresss recent efforts to manage the budget Dec. 21.

These efforts have the potential to implement significant reductions in operating funds in Michigans health care system.

We know that cuts to providers are likely to be part of any discussion about the future of Medicare and Medicaid, the document says, according to The Detroit News. We do not expect that health systems will be spared while all other sectors are cut. However, we hope that Congress can foresee that disproportionate cuts to health systems, asking them to take more than their share of the budget reduction, will result in fewer doctors, less access to care and layoffs. Michigan, as well as other states, is at the forefront of what many are calling the nations most important legislation since Franklin D. Roosevelts expansive New Deal: The Affordable Care Act.

This legislation aims to reform unsustainable systems (such as Medicare) that have plagued taxpayers with massive amounts of accumulated debt. Hospitals, especially those working with medical schools utilizing cutting-edge technology, depend on Medicare payments for residency positions, and a large portion of their revenue may come from clinical care services provided by faculty.

Research institutions, such as WSU, that lead the way for medical breakthroughs will indeed suffer a short-term loss, but the new plan could also create potential for long-term rewards.

We are examining the potential impacts of the Affordable Care Act, but it is just too early in the implementation of this legislation to determine definitive effects on the School of Medicine, said Kenneth Lee, vice dean of business affairs for WSUs SOM. There are so many details yet to be worked out in relation to the Affordable Care Act that many experts are still undecided on the impact.

According to USLegal.com, Medicare funding that a hospital receives for each patient depends on Diagnosis Related Groups, which divide patients into subsets based on gender, age, treatment, procedure and discharge status.

A chosen group of experts assigned within the stipulations of the Affordable Care Act will examine already compiled research to decide what treatments would be noted as viable or effective. Comparative effectiveness research partially funded by the Affordable Care Act should shed light on what works and what doesnt in todays hospitals. This panel of experts will interpret the data. Thus, some Diagnosis Related Groups may be phased out. Whether that would be for the better or for the worse depends on the reliability of the research, how representative the data is based on the hospitals location and the population of that area.

Congress managed to avoid a 26.5 percent cut to health care with institutions such as the American Medical Association voicing their concern before a temporary, but substantial deal was made Jan. 1, implementing a tax increase on the wealthy. More specifically, a 4.6 percent tax increase was implemented on individuals and families making $400,000 and $450,000 per year, respectively. However, the 2 percent cut to payroll tax was not renewed and would raise taxes for 160 million workers, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times also states that with the nation so close to the debt ceiling, a short-term cliffhanger is loosely dangling in place before a budget plan and a rising debt ceiling that is said to be finalized in the coming two months.

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Mich. medical school deans sound off on Obamacare