August 2002 • Volume 8 • Number 8 |
The House of Representatives passed provisions to fix the flawed Medicare payment formula June 27. However, the payment fix is mired in a controversial bill offering prescription drug benefits. At press time, senators were expected to introduce bills that would differ sharply from the House bill on drug benefits but would probably reflect House provisions on Medicare payments.
With the divergent views in the congressional chambers, enactment of prescription drug benefits this year is up for grabs. But AAFP staff in Washington have high hopes for the payment fix.
"We do expect Congress this year to pass a measure addressing the Medicare payment problems," says Kevin Burke, director of the AAFP Government Relations Division. "We're asking Academy members to keep up the pressure on Congress -- for patients' sake -- to revise the Medicare payment formula."
By early last month, 1,353 AAFP members had written their lawmakers, seeking relief from this year's Medicare payment cut and the prospect of cuts totaling about 14 percent over the next three years. The messages underscored the relationship between fair Medicare payments and physicians' ability to keep caring for Medicare patients.
The House, in its June 27 vote, agreed to increase physician payments by roughly 6 percent over the next three years and to explore ways to restructure the payment formula.
Also, in early July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed adding more than $1 billion to Medicare payments from 2003 to 2005.
The Academy has been such a dominant force in seeking payment reform that The New York Times, in May, mentioned AAFP's influence. The Times named the AAFP and the American College of Surgeons as participants in an AMA-led coalition.
To send your senators an e-mail supporting Medicare payment reform, open http://capitol.aafp.org/. At "Action Alert," click under "Update on the Medicare Physician Payment Crisis," and follow the instructions provided.
FP Report is published by the
AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2002 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.