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Senate
Must Act Now to Avert Crisis and Keep Medicare Program Strong
WASHINGTON,
Sept. 3 -- An online survey released today by the
American Medical Association (AMA) indicates that Medicare payment
cuts to physicians, nurses and other health professionals hurt
access to care for America's seniors.
"Physicians
want to serve America's seniors, but they simply cannot afford to
accept an unlimited number of new Medicare patients into their
practices while facing continued payment cuts," said Richard F.
Corlin, MD, AMA immediate-past president. "According to the
AMA's online survey, 24 percent of physicians have either placed
limits on the number of Medicare patients they treat or plan to
institute limits in the next six months due to sharp Medicare
payment cuts."
"America's
physicians and other health professionals have already taken a 5.4
percent Medicare payment cut. When AMA asked physicians if they
would continue to sign Medicare participation agreements if there
were additional Medicare payment cuts, 42 percent said they would
not," Dr. Corlin said. "If Congress fails to act soon,
physicians face an additional 12 percent cut over three years. These
Medicare cuts are coming at time when physicians' practice expenses,
particularly medical liability insurance costs, are
skyrocketing."
Signs
of access problems due to Medicare cuts have been demonstrated
elsewhere as well. "Just last month, a survey by the Medicare
Rights Center, a patient organization, found that Medicare
beneficiaries in 15 states and the District of Columbia are already
having trouble finding a physician who accepts new Medicare
patients," Dr. Corlin said. "The American Academy of
Family Physicians released survey data showing that 22 percent of
family physicians are no longer taking new Medicare patients, a
significant increase from the same survey done one year
earlier."
"Congress
must act to stop Medicare payment cuts and keep the Medicare program
strong for America's seniors. The AMA supports the House-passed
Medicare bill (HR 4954), which helps seniors get the prescription
drugs they need; fixes the Medicare payment problem; and provides
regulatory relief so physicians spend more time with patients and
less time on paperwork," Dr. Corlin said. "The new
Medicare payment rule will be issued on November 1st. The Senate
must act in the next few weeks to pass legislation that is at least
as strong as the House-passed bill and can be signed into law by
November 1st. America's seniors deserve no less."
For more details:
AMA:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/41/julymedpay.pdf
AAFP:
http://www.aafp.org/servlet/xmlPress?press_id=850
Medicare Rights Center:
http://www.medicarerights.org/factsandfaces7.html
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