Government & Medicine

Graphic illustration showing DNA helix, chromosomes, etc.

New Bill Provides Safeguard Against Genetic Discrimination

(05/02/2008) -- Legislation barring discrimination based on genetic testing may pave the way for greater use of genetic tests to detect various genetically mediated illnesses -- often before they even manifest themselves. With such early detection, development of disease can sometimes be avoided. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, H.R. 493, passed the Senate by a 95-0 margin last week, and the House adopted the measure May 1 on a 414-1 vote. The bill prohibits employers from making hiring, assignment or promotion decisions based on genetic data. More

Health Care Reform

Senate Bill May Provide Starting Point to Fix Health Care System

(04/25/2008) -- The Senate Finance Committee is considering legislation that could serve as the basis for major health care reform efforts during the next presidential administration, according to analysts interviewed by AAFP News Now. In January 2007, Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced the Healthy Americans Act, S. 334, a bipartisan bill that reflects the values of both the Democratic and Republican parties, making it a viable vehicle for health care reform. More

Legislation to Increase Physician Payments on Horizon

Medicare, Rural Payments Addressed

(04/23/2008) -- Two members of the Senate Finance Committee have announced that they are working on legislation to address payment issues for primary care physicians. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to introduce legislation in the next several weeks that will increase Medicare payments for primary care physicians, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has introduced legislation to resolve inequities in physician funding formulas that penalize physicians practicing in rural areas. More

MedPAC to Congress

Alter Payment, Delivery Systems to Promote Primary Care Services

(04/17/2008) -- The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, has endorsed two key recommendations that, if approved by Congress, would shift the focus of the Medicare program toward a more primary care-based system. During an April 9 meeting in Washington, MedPAC voted to recommend to Congress two separate but interrelated proposals that would alter Medicare's payment and delivery systems to promote the use of primary care services. More

Q&A With CMS Administrator Kerry Weems

Agency Head Advocates Paying for Outcomes

(04/08/2008) -- When Kerry Weems was appointed acting administrator of CMS last September, the emphasis was on his financial and management background. Speculation was that Weems' appointment was a response to the financial budget crunch facing the Medicare and Medicaid programs -- a crunch that has the potential to hit family physicians hard if the 10.6 percent reduction in Medicare payments called for by the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula goes into effect on July 1 as scheduled. More

Senate Bill Would Make Insurance More Affordable for Small Businesses

(04/09/2008) -- Small businesses -- those with 100 or fewer employees -- would have the option of joining national or statewide insurance pools to obtain lower insurance premiums under a bill recently introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act addresses one of the most pressing problems faced by small business owners and the self-employed -- the high cost of providing health care for themselves and their employees. More

AMA National Advocacy Conference

Capitol Hill Rally Pressures Congress for Medicare Payment Reform

(04/09/2008) -- The AMA made a congressional "house call" on April 2, staging an outdoor rally on Capitol Hill at which more than 250 physicians gathered to demand Medicare payment reform. "We know the current Medicare system is unfair," said FP Gerald Harmon, M.D., of Georgetown, S.C., one of two family physicians to address the rally. "It is a storm, a disaster waiting to happen -- a disaster that is going to affect millions of our elderly. It is going to break the hearts of dedicated physicians around the country." More

Medicare Payment Update Bill Introduced on Capitol Hill

AAFP Issues Speak Out Alert

(03/25/2008) -- The AAFP is rallying support for a Senate bill that would block steep reductions in Medicare physician payment rates for the latter half of this year and all of 2009 while giving Congress enough time to devise an alternative to the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More