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Call Senators Boxer and Feinstein and Urge their Continued Commitment to Stopping Medicare Payment Cuts
The U.S. House of Representatives, under the leadership of California Chairman Pete Stark, passed a bill in July that would stop the 10 percent sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut in 2008 and the 5 percent cut in 2009, replacing them instead with .5 percent increases in each of those years. The legislation would also update California’s geographic payment localities in 2008 and prevent any geographic payment reductions for three years. The bill provides an unprecedented $22 billion in payment fixes for physicians, without mortgaging this debt into future years. The January 1 deadline is looming, however, and the Senate has yet to act. Once it does so, the House and Senate Medicare packages will be reconciled by a joint House/Senate conference committee. Members of the Senate Finance Committee are currently meeting to discuss Medicare physician payments, but they are gridlocked because the new “pay-as-you-go” rules require that all spending increases be offset by corresponding spending reductions or revenue increases. Both AMA and CMA have proposed paying for these fixes by equalizing Medicare Advantage health plan rates with fee-for-service rates. Currently, Medicare Advantage plans are paid on average 12 percent more than fee-for-service physicians. Bringing plan rates in line with fee-for-service physician rates could save as much as $50 billion. Both California Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have been extremely supportive of physicians on this issue. The California senators need to hear from physicians now to help reinforce their efforts with the Senate leadership. CMA urges all physicians to call, write, or email Senators Feinstein and Boxer and ask them to urge finance committee leaders Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) to:
Please also thank Senators Feinstein and Boxer for their continued support of physicians. Contact Information:
Contact: Elizabeth McNeil, 415/882-3376 or emcneil@cmanet.org.
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