Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate
Legislation on health system reform has been voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives. But the bill that Congress approved on Saturday was missing one critical element: the Medicare physician payment issue.
Swift passage of H.R. 3961, the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act," would replace the physician payment system that is widely acknowledged to be dysfunctional and that continually threatens access to care for our nation's elderly and disabled patients, as well as for our military families covered by TRICARE. It also would help provide physician practices with financial stability and predictability and enable them to invest in the infrastructure needed to build a health care system for the 21st century. Without Medicare physician payment reform, the goals of health system reform will remain out of reach.
Please call Rep. John A. Yarmuth and urge a YES vote on H.R. 3961. Use our hotline at (800) 833-6354. You can also send your representative an email.
This legislation would stop the imminent 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut scheduled to go into effect in less than two months. It also would provide a permanent solution to the problem so that Congress will no longer need to apply annual, fiscally irresponsible Band-Aid fixes to stop impending cuts that get worse year after year.
Medicine can no longer support the sort of short-term patches that have been used in the past to postpone true payment reform. This bill could come up as soon as next week, so please tell your representative continue to pursue health system reform and support H.R. 3961.
Swift passage of H.R. 3961, the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act," would replace the physician payment system that is widely acknowledged to be dysfunctional and that continually threatens access to care for our nation's elderly and disabled patients, as well as for our military families covered by TRICARE. It also would help provide physician practices with financial stability and predictability and enable them to invest in the infrastructure needed to build a health care system for the 21st century. Without Medicare physician payment reform, the goals of health system reform will remain out of reach.
Please call Rep. John A. Yarmuth and urge a YES vote on H.R. 3961. Use our hotline at (800) 833-6354. You can also send your representative an email.
This legislation would stop the imminent 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut scheduled to go into effect in less than two months. It also would provide a permanent solution to the problem so that Congress will no longer need to apply annual, fiscally irresponsible Band-Aid fixes to stop impending cuts that get worse year after year.
Medicine can no longer support the sort of short-term patches that have been used in the past to postpone true payment reform. This bill could come up as soon as next week, so please tell your representative continue to pursue health system reform and support H.R. 3961.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
House passes health system reform legislation
Late this evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act," by a vote of 220-215. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the legislation would raise the percentage of legal, non-elderly American residents with insurance coverage from the current 83 percent to 96 percent. It also includes insurance market reforms that would eliminate exclusions for pre-existing conditions and lifetime limits on total health care spending, and it would provide subsidies for low-income Americans to help them purchase coverage in a health insurance exchange.
The legislation was supported by the AMA and a number of other national physician organizations, including the American Academy of Dermatology, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, American Thoracic Society, National Medical Association and Medical Group Management Association. AARP also supported the bill.
The focus now moves to the Senate, where a draft proposal has been submitted to the CBO for review prior to scheduling consideration on the floor.
House approves rule for considering SGR repeal bill
Earlier in the day, the House approved a rule for considering both the health system reform bill and H.R. 3961, the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009." The vote was 242-192, with all but 15 Democrats voting in support and all Republicans voting against. While the rule set parameters for debate on both bills, the imminent congressional recess for the Veterans Day holiday prevented a floor vote on H.R. 3961. That legislation would repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) physician payment formula and replace it with a new payment update system with two more generous spending targets. The House is expected to take up H.R. 3961 during the week of Nov. 16.
The legislation was supported by the AMA and a number of other national physician organizations, including the American Academy of Dermatology, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, American Thoracic Society, National Medical Association and Medical Group Management Association. AARP also supported the bill.
The focus now moves to the Senate, where a draft proposal has been submitted to the CBO for review prior to scheduling consideration on the floor.
House approves rule for considering SGR repeal bill
Earlier in the day, the House approved a rule for considering both the health system reform bill and H.R. 3961, the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009." The vote was 242-192, with all but 15 Democrats voting in support and all Republicans voting against. While the rule set parameters for debate on both bills, the imminent congressional recess for the Veterans Day holiday prevented a floor vote on H.R. 3961. That legislation would repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) physician payment formula and replace it with a new payment update system with two more generous spending targets. The House is expected to take up H.R. 3961 during the week of Nov. 16.
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