Put Legislators' Feet to the Fire to Avoid 2007 Medicare Pay Cut

Will you be able to care for your Medicare patients next year while sustaining a 5.1 percent decrease in reimbursement?

If you find this a real threat -- and I'm sure you do -- please join me and the AAFP Board of Directors in a broad, sustained grassroots effort to convince elected officials that they must prevent this Medicare cut from taking effect Jan. 1.

Our long-term goal remains a full revision of the payment formula known as the sustainable growth rate, or SGR. But since Congress failed to act before the Sept. 29 recess, it appears that this year’s realistic goal is another positive one-year payment update. To achieve this goal, we need your support.

Legislators have gone home to campaign, so approach them on their home turf. Push them to commit to preventing this Medicare pay cut when they return to Washington during the “lame duck” session after the elections. Here's how:

The AAFP has been lobbying Congress all year long to prevent the 2007 cut. Your support helped us keep this issue in the forefront of the congressional agenda. However, fixing this problem was one of the things Congress did not complete before recessing and going home almost two weeks ago.

Regarding the long-term goal of revising the payment formula, AAFP members have sent thousands of letters to Congress, and AAFP leaders have met with legislators throughout the year to emphasize the issue's importance. As a result of this aggressive lobbying, several bills have been introduced this year, and chairs of key committees made several proposals during the waning days of the regular session. Unfortunately, not one of those proposals was acceptable, and our work continues.

Last month, more than 2,500 individuals participated in AAFP's Vote for America's Health Capitol Hill Rally to keep Congress focused on replacing this outdated policy. This year, AAFP helped family physicians visit more than 95 offices of key legislators to make this same point. And recently, Tom Weida, M.D., speaker of the AAFP Congress of Delegates, testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, detailing a long-term plan to repeal the SGR.

Member participation in our advocacy efforts this year has been nothing short of marvelous. Each time we have issued an alert, members have responded. That's one of the reasons we are as close as we are to avoiding this drastic Medicare cut. Now, as legislators run for re-election, keep their feet to the fire. Tell them that family physicians cannot continue to absorb the increased cost of providing care for Medicare patients.

Our Medicare patients are counting on legislators to do the right thing. With your help, we can convince them what the right thing is.