A group representing Iowa’s physicians says it is considering suing the federal government over the inadequacy of Medicare reimbursements to Iowa health-care providers.

Leaders of the Iowa Medical Society (IMS) unveiled a 64-page task force report this morning warning that Iowa’s ability to meet its future health-care needs will be in jeopardy if steps aren’t taken to address several key issues. Among those issues is the reimbursement system for Medicare, which Iowa doctors say results in them receiving the lowest reimbursements in the country and effectively subsidizing higher-cost care in other states.

The IMS represents more than 4,600 medical and osteopathic doctors in the state.

The medical society views achieving equity in Medicare reimbursement to be so crucial that its board of directors recently approved a motion to authorize exploring litigation against the agency that runs Medicare, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said Dr. Patricia Hoffmann, IMS president-elect.

“The federal government has a duty to pay for the care that is provided by the Medicare program, and geographic adjustors in the payment formula are shortchanging Iowa patients and the doctors who care for them,” she said in a release. Hoffmann, a Des Moines anesthesiologist, said neither Congress nor CMS has acted to restore equity to the way Medicare reimburses doctors. “Possibly the courts will,” she said.

A separate study released Monday by Dartmouth College found that Medicare spent an average of $39,243 per chronically ill patient for end-of-life care in Iowa, the lowest in the nation and more than 30 percent below the national average of $52,838. In New Jersey, the highest-cost state, the program spent $66,770 per patient, or 70 percent more than in Iowa. That report concluded that Medicare economically punishes hospitals and doctors that use less invasive, less costly procedures.

The IMS report was developed by 11 Iowa doctors to assess the adequacy of Iowa’s physician work force and the ability of Iowans to access the medical skill level appropriate for their needs. It looked at four key areas, including Iowa’s physician work force, medical education and training, caring for Iowa’s uninsured population, and Iowa’s public health system. It includes more than 40 recommendations that the IMS said should serve as a guide for both lawmakers and physicians.

The Task Force Report on Iowa’s Health Care Infrastructure is available on the Iowa Medical Society Web site at www.iowamedical.org.