DJP Update 2-26-2010 Gov Price-Fixing: the end result
Quick update as boarding plane at plane change in Phoenix.
See AMA press release below.
The 21% fee cut for physicians for Medicare and Tricare takes place March 1.
Yet Congress departs!
Why would anyone want government more involved in the health system?
With the price-fixing and FORBIDDING of private contracting without penalty, it is the patients who will suffer!
Does Congess really care?
Every senior in America should loudly protest. And we all know the families of our brave military do not need any more stress with the Tricare coverage.
Shame on Congress. Why was this crisis not discussed at the Summit?
So much for Organized Medicine’s negotiating approach over this past year and “seat at the table”.
Time for a new game plan. Time for return to Liberty!
Stay well. Have to board plane.
Donald
Begin forwarded message:
From: HOD Advocacy Update <hod.advocacy.update@enews.ama-assn.org>
Date: February 26, 2010 11:27:53 AM MST
To: djp@donaldpalmisano.com
Subject: FW: AMA News: Senate Inaction on Medicare Hurts Seniors, Military and Boomers; Drastic 21% cut on March 1
Reply-To: terri.marchiori@ama-assn.org
The AMA press release on the Senate in action…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 26, 2010
SENATE INACTION ON MEDICARE HURTS SENIORS, MILITARY AND BOOMERS
Drastic 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut will take place on Monday, March 1
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Medicare meltdown now seems certain, as the U.S. Senate has left early for the weekend, abandoning seniors, military families and baby boomers. The Senate failed to repeal the Medicare physician payment formula that will cause a drastic 21 percent payment cut to physicians who care for Medicare and TRICARE patients. On Monday, the 21 percent cut goes into effect, forcing many physicians to limit the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they see in order to keep their practice doors open.
“Our message to the U.S. Senate is stop playing games with Medicare patients and the physicians who care for them,” said AMA President J. James Rohack, M.D. “It is shocking that the Senate would abandon our most vulnerable patients, making them the collateral damage of their procedural games.”
Already, about one in four Medicare patients seeking a primary care physician is having trouble finding one, according to MedPAC, Congress’ advisory body on Medicare. Physicians have told AMA that steep Medicare cuts will force them to limit the number of Medicare patients they treat. A new 2010 survey of neurosurgeons found that about 60 percent are already reducing the number of Medicare patients in their practices, and cuts will force nearly 40 percent to decrease the number of new Medicare patients they see. More than 18 percent of neurosurgeons will no longer take new Medicare patients.
“The Senate had more than a year to repeal the formula and ensure the security and stability of Medicare and TRICARE, but that opportunity has been squandered,” Dr. Rohack said. “This drastic cut will hurt our senior, disabled and military patients, as well as baby boomers who start entering the Medicare program next year.”
“Last November, the U.S. House passed legislation (H.R. 3961) that would repeal the broken formula and better update payments to reflect the increasing cost of care,” Dr. Rohack said. “AARP and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) have joined with the AMA in calling on the Senate to act, but the Senate has turned its back on America’s seniors, military families and baby boomers.”
###
Contact:
Brenda Craine, Director, AMA Media Relations
202-789-7447
Follow AMA on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmerMedicalAssn
About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues. Working together, the AMA’s quarter of a million physician and medical student members are playing an active role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org
Brenda Craine
Director, Media Relations
25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20001-7400
P: (202) 789-7447
F: (202) 789-7472
brenda.craine@ama-assn.org
AMA news on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/AmerMedicalAssn
Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD
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