AAFP Statement: AAFP Supports Senate Bill S. 1081, Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act of 2005

Statement Attributable to:
Mary E. Frank, M.D.
President
American Academy of Family Physicians

This week, Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act (S. 1081). The American Academy of Family Physicians fully supports and applauds this effort to halt the expected reductions of 4.3 percent in Medicare payments to physicians and to provide physicians with an assured positive update for the next two years.

This bill is important because it will provide some stability in physician Medicare payment rates. With such stability, family physicians will be able to continue to provide high quality of care for America’s seniors and disabled patients.

The bill would provide a payment increase of no less than 2.7 percent in 2006. In 2007, an updated payment will reflect the physician practice cost of inflation, currently estimated to be approximately 2.6 percent.

If Congress does not act by the end of the year, the Medicare physician payment formula will likely produce a 4.3 percent decrease next year with similar reductions to follow in the years to come. That declining reimbursement rate would likely mean a growing percentage of family physicians would decline to see new Medicare patients and, as a result, access to care would suffer.

Family physicians are grateful to Senators Kyl and Stabenow for their commitment to stabilizing Medicare and the AAFP looks forward to working with them to attain permanent reforms of the physician payment formula. This bill helps keep the Medicare program strong for those who need it most – America’s seniors and disabled patients. They deserve nothing less.