Sen. Max Baucus’ white paper, Call to Action: Health Reform 2009, is on target and reflects a “thorough and comprehensive review of the current health care system’s flaws and needs,” according to Jim King, M.D., chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors.
King praised the white paper in a letter sent to Baucus today. Noting, “Your proposal provides a thorough and comprehensive review of the current health care system’s flaws and needs,” King expressed support for several elements of the white paper:
‘We Agree With Your Vision of the Health Care System,’ AAFP Says in Letter Praising Sen. Baucus White Paper
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 24, 2008
Contact:
Leslie Champlin
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237, Ext. 5224
lchampli@aafp.org
- Expanding Medicare’s role in testing the patient-centered medical home model.
- Reducing or eliminating copayments for services included in medical homes.
- Addressing the flawed sustainable growth rate formula on which current Medicare physician payment is based.
- Providing financial assistance for smaller primary care practices to adopt health information technology.
- Investigating changes in paying for graduate medical education, with greater emphasis on training residents outside traditional hospital settings.
“Above all, we agree with your vision of the health care system. Every American should have health coverage,” King wrote.
“Family physicians appreciate your long-standing commitment to reforming the nation’s health care system so that our nation’s patients receive better quality and less costly care,” King’s letter says. “That commitment comes with the recognition of the critical role that primary care plays in such health care. Your proposal says it well: ‘Primary care is the keystone of a high-performing health care system.’”
“Family physicians appreciate your long-standing commitment to reforming the nation’s health care system so that our nation’s patients receive better quality and less costly care,” King’s letter says. “That commitment comes with the recognition of the critical role that primary care plays in such health care. Your proposal says it well: ‘Primary care is the keystone of a high-performing health care system.’”
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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 105,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.
Approximately one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 240 million office visits each year — nearly 87 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.
To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer Web site, www.FamilyDoctor.org.
