Tell your Senators to repeal the flawed Medicare physician payment formula (SGR)

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Last week the Senate failed to repeal the Medicare physician payment formula that caused today’s drastic 21 percent payment cut to physicians. Call your senators at (800) 833-6354 today and tell them it is time to act on permanent repeal of the flawed Medicare physician payment formula (SGR) once and for all.

For too many years, Congress has applied short-term fixes to this long-term problem, which is like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. Physicians can no longer play this perpetual game of chicken with Congress. The Medicare payment program is unreliable and unsustainable. Physicians can no longer shield their patients from congressional mismanagement of the program.

You are dedicated to your patients, but you cannot run a business when the government doesn’t cover the cost of care. The growing negative margin and cuts have made it untenable for you to continue to care for Medicare patients.

Time and time again, physicians have told the AMA and Congress that this 21 percent cut—and the threat of more to come—will force them to make difficult practice changes. First and foremost, physicians will be forced to limit the number of Medicare patients they can treat—or cease seeing them altogether. In this tough economy, the cuts will have a ripple effect as physicians will also be forced to take other actions to keep their practices viable, such as reducing staff and delaying investments in health IT.

Many of you already know that about one in four Medicare patients looking for a new primary care physician are having trouble finding one. This latest cut and the Senate’s continued failure to adopt a permanent solution will turn this growing problem into a disaster.

America’s military men and women should not have to worry about their loved ones getting in to see a doctor, but that is the position in which Congress has put them. Because TRICARE ties its payment rates to Medicare, active duty military members and their families are at risk of reduced access to care.

The longer Congress delays on permanent action, the greater the cost and the magnitude of the cuts. In 2005 the cost of permanent reform was $49 billion. Today the cost is $210 billion. Again, the longer the delay, the higher the price tag will become. Tell Congress to stop short-term fixes that are nothing more than a budgetary gimmick, and fix the formula for America’s seniors, military families, disabled and baby
boomers.

Congress created this payment formula—the Senate has a responsibility to fix it. No more lip service. It’s time for action on a permanent solution to this problem created by Congress. Senators need to hear directly from you—America’s physicians—on this issue. Call the AMA’s toll-free grassroots hotline at (800) 833-6354 and urge your senators to permanently repeal the SGR. Do it for the future of your practice and the patients in your care.

Choose Medicare participation status by March 17

Physicians have until March 17 to change their Medicare participation status for this year. View an updated document from the AMA <http://t.democracydirect.com/?ti_dn__=2b03d014-3058-4267-84c0-0719389a9 3a2&__u_idz=c07f0d57-12c1-431b 9830-4e648a720f30&__turl=http%3a%2f%2fwww .ama-assn.org%2fama1%2fpub%2fupload%2fmm%2f399%2fmed-par-options.pdf> that explains the current situation with respect to Medicare payment updates for 2010 and the various participation options available to physicians.

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