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AAFP Statement: 30-day Extension Will Not Resolve Medicare Physician Payment Issue

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 07, 2008

Statement Attributable to:
James King, M.D.
President
American Academy of Family Physicians

The American Academy of Family Physicians does not support a 30-day stop-gap measure that would freeze Medicare physician payment at the level paid before July 1.

Congress had six months to act on this vital legislation and didn’t. The U.S. House did so – with overwhelming, bipartisan support for HR 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. If the Senate could not act in a timely manner before the July 4 holiday, we have no expectation that a 30-day extension will provide the incentive to respond to Medicare patients’ need for stability in their health care coverage or physicians need to receive adequate payment for services rendered.

The Senate has a bill before it now. The U.S. Senate should pass that legislation now. By doing so, they will demonstrate their commitment to their elderly and disabled constituents’ access to health care services they need.

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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents more than 93,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 215 million office visits each year – nearly 48 million more than the next medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide the majority of care for America’s underserved and rural populations.

In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

To learn more about the American Academy of Family Physicians and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit www.aafp.org.

For more information about the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care and downloadable multi-media on family medicine and health care, visit the AAFP Media Center.

For more information about health care, health conditions, and wellness, please visit familydoctor.org.