ACTION NEEDED NOW ON 10.6% MEDICARE PHYSICIAN REIMBURSEMENT CUTS

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

ACTION NEEDED NOW ON 10.6% MEDICARE PHYSICIAN REIMBURSEMENT CUTS

 Source: The American Academy of Emergency Medidine ( http://www.aaem.org )
Date: July 06, 2008


Congress failed to pass legislation to stop the 10.6% cut in the physician reimbursement rate before leaving for its Independence Day recess on June 27.  The House voted on June 24 to pass the bill (H.R. 6331) by a surprisingly large margin of 355 to 59 – a level of support that could overcome a presidential veto. 

The Senate, however, did not vote on the bill until late in the day on June 26. By a vote of 58 to 40, the Senate refused to invoke cloture to proceed to the legislation, just shy of the 60 votes needed to move on.  If cloture had been invoked, the chamber would have then cleared it for the President, who has threatened to veto it.  In a procedural move, the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) changed his vote to "No" so that he could call the bill up at a future date.  Therefore, the measure fell one vote short of being adopted.

Majority Leader Reid, (D-NV) is expected this week to try once more to push through the House Medicare bill (H.R. 6331) that would restore physician reimbursement cuts.
 
ACTION REQUIRED

Your Senators need to hear directly from you NOW urging them to stop the Medicare payment cuts and bring H.R. 6331 to a floor vote in the Senate.

Please contact your two U.S. Senators ASAP this week.

Here's how:

* Use the AMA’s toll-free Grassroots Hotline at (800) 833-6354 to connect your Senators’ offices.
* You will need to make two separate calls -- one for each Senator.
* Ask to speak with the Health LA (Legislative Assistant).  If he or she are not available, leave a message for the Senator.
* Identify yourself as a concerned emergency medicine physician living and practicing in the state.
* Tell your Senators that continued cuts in resources to our health care system are unsustainable; that patients will suffer if Medicare continues to cut payments to physicians and other health professionals.
* Urge your Senators to stop the Medicare payment cuts and bring H.R. 6331 to a floor vote in the Senate.

Please make your telephone calls ASAP this week.


Abid Mogannam &
Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine

The CAL/AAEM Archives are available at: http://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/public/calaaem/

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