White House, AMA and AAEM Call for Action on Scheduled Cuts to Medicare Pay

Sun Nov 28 11:37:07 PST 2010

 [image: CAL/AAEM: California Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency
Medicine]
 *November 9, 2010*
*White House, AMA Call for Action on Scheduled Cuts to Medicare Pay*

California Healthline<http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2010/11/9/white-house-ama-call-for-action-on-scheduled-cuts-to-medicare-pay.aspx#ixzz14pYVjklk>

On Monday, the Obama administration expressed support for legislation that
would postpone for 13 months scheduled cuts to Medicare reimbursements for
physicians, CQ HealthBeat reports.

Currently, the federal government is scheduled to reduce physicians'
Medicare payments by 23% at the end of November. On Jan. 1, 2011, an
additional 1% cut is scheduled to go into effect.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the administration is committed to
working with physicians to avert the cuts. She said the cuts could push
physicians out of Medicare and jeopardize care for seniors.

AMA Weighs In

The American Medical Association previously reported that one in five
physicians were limiting the number of Medicare patients they treat because
of reimbursement concerns, according to CQ HealthBeat (Norman, CQ
HealthBeat, 11/8).

AMA also is urging Congress to pass the legislation and to include a 1%
increase in physician reimbursements, according to AMA President Cecil
Wilson.

The group's endorsement of a 13-month fix signals a shift for the
organization, which typically lobbies Congress to establish a permanent
solution to the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula, National Journal
Daily reports.

Wilson said, "The likelihood of getting (a permanent fix) in the prior weeks
to Thanksgiving is not great," adding, "What we hope, and expect, is that
[lawmakers] will find it constructive that we are coming to the table."

AMA has begun running advertisements pressuring lawmakers to delay the cuts.
Meanwhile, the group recently released a new online poll finding that U.S.
residents are concerned about physicians' Medicare reimbursement rates
(McCarthy, National Journal Daily, 11/8).

Prospects for Passage

Lawmakers have not yet proposed offsets for the 13-month fix, which is
expected to cost an estimated $17 billion to $20 billion, CQ
HealthBeat reports (CQ HealthBeat, 11/8). According to Senate aides, the
lawmakers' hesitation on offsets makes passage of the 13-month fix by
Thanksgiving unlikely.

Congress reconvenes on Nov. 15 for one week prior to the Thanksgiving
recess. Lawmakers then return on Nov. 29 -- two days before the Medicare
cuts are scheduled to take place -- for the session's final weeks.

Julius Hobson -- senior policy adviser with Polsinelli Shughart -- said
lawmakers might opt for a one-month fix for reimbursements, which would buy
them time to consider the 13-month patch during the final weeks of the
legislative calendar before Christmas (Ethridge, CQ Today, 11/8).

*November 16, 2010*
*Action Needed Now to Stop Medicare Physician Payment Cuts*

American Academy of Emergency
Medicine<http://www.capwiz.com/aaem/issues/alert/?alertid=19654501>

Without congressional action before December 1, physicians will face a 23%
Medicare payment cut — followed by another 2% cut on January 1 — which will
hurt seniors and the disabled who rely on Medicare, and military families
who rely on TRICARE seniors' access to care.

Elderly patients will find it increasingly difficult to be treated by their
physicians which will result in increased diversion of Medicare patients to
EDs for evaluation and management.  These diversions will further
destabilize the extremely tenuous crowding that already exists in the vast
majority of hospital emergency departments in the United States.

ACTION REQUIRED:
CALL, FAX or E-MAIL your Representative and Senators today.  Template
language can be found on AAEM’s Legislative Action Center.  Click
here<http://www.capwiz.com/aaem/issues/alert/?alertid=19654501> to
go to the Action Center.

During White Coat Wednesday – November 17th, call the AMA's grassroots
hotline and the AMA will put you in touch with your respective Senators.

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 their actions have real-world consequences for
seniors who rely on Medicare.
 •  Urge your Senators to fix the Medicare patch.  We need a long-term
solution to this annual problem, so Congress will no longer need to apply
short-term band aid fixes to stop impending physician payment cuts that get
worse year after year.

*Anna Parks &**
Brian Potts MD, MBA*
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine

Contact us at: calaaem.news.service1 at gmail.com

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