AMA Scores Victory on Medicare Physician Payments

In a major victory for organized medicine, the Obama administration announced last week that the cost of physician-administered drugs will be removed from Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) calculations retroactive to the 1996 base year. The announcement came as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid's release of its 2010 Medicare physician payment proposed rule. The move, which the AMA has been calling for since 2002, will avert many of the payment cuts that have been forecast because of the SGR and substantially reduces the cost the Congressional Budget Office would assign to legislative proposals to permanently repeal the SGR. AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, hailed the action, noting that it paves the way for Congress to ensure stable Medicare physician payment rates that reflect increasing practice costs and preserve seniors' access to care. "Our nation has a historic opportunity for health reform this year," Dr. Rohack said, "and strengthening Medicare should be a cornerstone of this effort."



Source: AMA Health System Reform Bulletin, July 7, 2009

Medicare Physician Payment Update

Current legislation being reviewed in Congress has the potential to drastically alter the practice of surgery in the United States. The American College of Surgeons position is that there can be no meaningful health care reform without long-term reforms to the Medicare physician payment system, which is based on the flawed sustainable growth rate formula (SGR). As you are aware, on January 1, 2010, surgeons, and all physicians face a 22% cut in Medicare reimbursement.

ACS and the AMA are advocating that to reform Medicare’s payment system and find more innovative models of Medicare physician payment, Congress must first immediately and permanently eliminate the SGR. ACS does not support another short-term “patch” that only temporarily prevents Medicare payment cuts and does not directly address the problems with the SGR.

Additional information about the ACS and the AMA positions on this issue can be found at the following links:

AMA Medicare Physician Payment Reform
American College of Surgeons Health Care Reform Information

If you are interested in helping to advance this issue, contact your Senators and Representatives today. The following instructions are from the ACS:

Instructions
Please call toll-free 1-877-925-8742
You will be asked to enter your zip code and will then be connected to your legislators’ offices. Once you are connected, tell them you are a constituent and leave your name, phone number and address, along with the suggested message below.

Phone Message
As a surgeon and as your constituent, I urge you to ensure that the SGR is permanently abolished in any health care reform legislation and that this critical issue is not simply addressed by another short-term patch.