November 5, 2007

 

US Senators claim they haven’t heard from physicians about looming SGR cuts!
Call your senators soon!

Senators are telling us that they are not hearing from physicians about the looming Medicare physician payment cuts stemming from the SGR.  We must ensure they get the message: now is the time to include positive Medicare physician payment updates in the Medicare bill that Congress is crafting!

The American Medical Association and multiple national specialty medical societies are orchestrating a nationwide physician call-in campaign to the Senate!  We urge you and your staff to call your senators on November 6, 7, or 8. Use the AMA’s toll-free Grassroots Hotline at (800) 833-6354 to connect to your senators.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee are meeting to discuss ways to avert the pending Medicare physician payment cuts. However, they have yet to reach a consensus regarding how to proceed.

The Finance Committee is gridlocked because certain rules require that any new spending increases be offset by corresponding spending decreases or increases in revenue. To date, members of the committee have been unable to agree upon offsets. Reducing over-payments to Medicare Advantage plans is viewed as a possible offset for spending to avert physician payment cuts.

The Senate needs to hear directly from physicians now, as the Medicare package is being crafted, how important it is that the Senate takes action to stop the pending Medicare physician payment cuts.

Ask your senators to speak with Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and urge them to include positive Medicare physician payment updates for the next two years in the Medicare bill that they are drafting.

Use the AMA’s Toll-Free Grass Roots Hotline at (800) 833-6354 and tell them Congress must dedicate new funding to the update and not use the same old funding gimmicks.