Medicare payments to physicians dropped 21.3 percent June 18, on claims for service on or after June 1, as continuing congressional dysfunction failed to stop the cut from taking effect.
"Washington obviously doesn't realize the damage they're doing to our practices and our patients," said TMA President Susan Rudd Bailey, MD. "The blame extends to both parties, to the House and the Senate, and to the White House. Shame on all of you."
Even though the Senate approved a deal earlier today stopping the cuts and raising fees 2.2 percent until Nov. 30, there was no hope of avoiding a temporary cut as the House of Representatives was out on Friday and is not scheduled to resume voting until Tuesday. Both chambers have to approve the same proposal. The House voted last month to stop the cut and replace it with a 19-month Band-Aid, consisting of a 2.2-percent increase for the rest of the year and a 1-percent increase for 2011. That was part of a larger bill extending federal...
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Here's an excerpt from today's "On the Road" blog by Jim Rohack, MD, president of the American Medical Association and a cardiologist from Temple, TX:
On June 1, the 21 percent cut goes into effect. While Congress has put a temporary patch in place three times this year, the deficit is still growing, along with the cost for permanent repair. The AMA, the Federation of Medicine, AARP and the Military Officers Association of America are working together to get Congress to do the right thing and stop making the problem worse.
Read the whole article.
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The April 14 deadline came and went with no action from the U.S. Congress, so the 21.3-percent cut in physicians' Medicare payments officially took effect today (April 15).
"It is absolutely unacceptable for the United States Congress to inflict this kind of perpetual uncertainty on Medicare patients and their physicians," said Texas Medical Association President William H. Fleming III, MD. "This is an all-too-real reason why Congress needs to quit dithering and get to work on a permanent new Medicare payment formula today.
"We need every physician, every patient, every nurse, every spouse, and every health care professional in Texas to join our million-signature petition drive now."
The American Medical Association released a statement saying that "some carriers have the capacity to hold claims for an additional day or two and still meet Medicare law’s prompt payment requirements, others will begin processing claims today at the reduced rates. Importantly, claims for services...
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By James B. Dolan, MD, Florida Medical Association President
As Democrats herald the passage of the federal health care bill and Republicans vow to fight it, one issue that we don’t hear much about is the Sustainable Growth Rate, or the SGR. In fact, most patients have never heard of the SGR. Yet, Florida stands to bear the brunt of the SGR’s fallout more than any other state. It is time to educate patients about the SGR and its implications. Ultimately, this provision could spell catastrophe, especially for Florida’s seniors.
What is the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)?
The SGR is the formula used to establish how much physicians are paid for seeing Medicare patients. The SGR is supposed to be updated every year to take into account rising health care costs, the ever-increasing number of Americans on the Medicare rolls, and inflation. The federal government adjusts the SGR for changes in law and regulation. However, these adjustments simply do not reflect the increased...
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Medicare, the foundation of America’s health system, is crumbling and needs permanent repair, Texas physicians told Congress today. Texas Medical Association (TMA) physician leaders across Texas unveiled their open letter to Congress and launched a petition drive. The petition urges Congress to fix the flawed payment formula that threatens care for Texas’ 2.5 million Medicare recipients, including senior citizens and people with disabilities, and 850,000 military family members covered by TriCare.Doctors and patients united at seven locations across Texas on Monday with pens and purpose —to stop the Medicare Meltdown. TMA will deliver the petitions and letters to Congress in Washington, D.C.
“For a Medicare patient, a doctor can mean everything: independence, hope, and security,” said TMA President William H. Fleming III, MD, at Monday’s Houston patient/physician gathering. “But Medicare patients are feeling anything but secure about the future of...
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For the past year, President Obama and Congress have worked to pass a health care bill. In the midst of all the debate, Medicare — the largest health program run by the government — is imploding. The government simply cannot run a health care program without physicians to care for the patients Medicare covers. The current debacle on potential cuts to physician payments is the latest in a series of events where Congress has created a problem but continually fails to address it. How can any of your constituents trust Congress to truly address health care concerns if Congress cannot and will not fix Medicare?
Texas physicians have pleaded with Congress to fix Medicare for the past decade. It is the coverage Medicare patients depend on for health care. However, until Congress fixes federal law that requires Medicare payments to physicians to be modified annually using the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, Medicare is doomed to failure. Because of flaws in how it was...
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Dear Members of Congress:
I’m writing today on behalf of nearly 45,000 physicians and medical student members of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) to ask for swift action to stop the implosion of our Medicare system. The government simply cannot run its largest health care program without physicians to care for the millions of senior citizens, people with disabilities, and military families who depend on Medicare.
TMA’s message to Congress for the past year on health system reform is “Keep what’s good in our health care system and fix only what’s wrong.” I have traveled around the state and heard from physicians and patients about the current health care system. All agree that the system is broken and needs to be fixed.
One of the critical broken pieces is the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula for Medicare. Since its inception, the SGR has not worked. Annually, it has forced physicians to limit access for our patients, pushing...
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