The Petition
Healthcare in the United States has been compromised by the failure to nurture primary care, which is tied principally to low reimbursement for primary care physician services,
The primary care medical societies - the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) - provide implicit support for the current failed payment policies through their participation in the RUC.
I am concerned that, by their continued participation in the RUC, the primary care medical societies are compromising effective advocacy for their members, for primary care, and for the health of Americans.
Therefore, I strongly encourage the primary care medical societies to publicly withdraw from the RUC and work to establish an alternative means of impacting Medicare’s physician payment decisions for the good of primary care and American health care.