The AMA launched a TV and radio advertising campaign to urge patients and physicians to tell Congress that the time for repeal of the broken Medicare physician payment formula is now. The ads are part of the AMA’s grassroots effort to urge patients and physicians to contact Congress and encourage repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), Medicare’s physician payment formula, before the 30 percent cut occurs on January 1. Watch the television ad below and then take action. Email your Representative and Senators and tell them growing the problem is not the solution – repeal SGR and stop the Medicare physicians payment cuts! Then call them using the Patients’ Action Network hotline at (888) 434-6200.

Another week. Same story. Patients face drastic cuts in Medicare services unless Congress takes action to reform physician payment systems like the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. If not repealed, the SGR will hit Medicare physicians with a 30 percent cut on January 1. Cuts of this magnitude would have a detrimental impact on patients’ access to care.

Congress must act!

The path forward began with a new committee to address the nation’s growing budget deficit. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or “supercommittee,” concluded its second week of formal meetings to find $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction by discussing potential reforms to the tax code, Social Security and Medicare — including repeal of the SGR.

The supercommittee began the week with a recommendation from President Obama to repeal the SGR. The president isn’t alone. Multiple bipartisan deficit reduction proposals have been reviewed by the supercommittee. The message is clear: End the short-term budget gimmicks, protect Medicare services in a fiscally responsible manner and repeal the SGR.

Patients remain engaged in the fight to stop drastic cuts that put Medicare services at risk. Every email and every call to Congress enhances the message that repeal of the SGR will protect access to care while achieving a fiscally responsible solution to the nation’s deficit.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

Congress must hear from constituents in their districts. Please help us keep up the pressure on all members of Congress and continue contacting your representative and senators by using our toll-free grassroots hotline. Call (888) 434-6200 to be connected with their district offices today. Tell them that eliminating the SGR is an essential element of any effort to reform Medicare. Urge them to promote the message that a repeal of the SGR should be part of any solution to address the budget deficit — failure to act only leads to increased costs in the future.

Congress must make SGR repeal a priority for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

The new Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or “Super Committee,” recently held its first formal hearing. The committee is charged with finding $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction spending over a 10-year period. While no formal proposals have been presented yet, potential savings of this magnitude will involve a wide array of government projects and services, and serious cuts in many areas are actively being discussed.

As this process unfolds, it’s important that legislators take a careful approach to proposed entitlement reforms to Social Security and Medicare so that vital access to critical health care services is not put in jeopardy. This includes providing a permanent fix to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that is producing steep cuts in Medicare payments for physician health care services year after year.

During last week’s hearing, committee co-chair Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) commented on the pending 29.5 percent cut to Medicare physician payments that is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, and how patients could potentially risk access to care if those cuts are allowed to occur. Referencing the flawed SGR formula this early in the committee process is encouraging, but grassroots pressure is still important to reinforce repealing SGR as part of any effort to address the budget deficit.

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

The following is a list of the 12 Super Committee members who need to hear from you on repealing the SGR! Click on the names below and you can instantly send them an urgent message on this critical issue direct to their Twitter account.

*Sen. Baucus does not currently have a Twitter account. If you do not have a Twitter account please consider opening one. It’s free to join!

In addition, please help us keep up the pressure on all members of Congress and continue contacting your representative and senators by using our toll-free grassroots hotline. Call (888) 434-6200 to be connected with their offices and CLICK HERE to send them an urgent email message today. Tell them that eliminating the SGR is an essential element of any effort to reform Medicare. Urge them to promote the message that a permanent fix to the physician payment system should be part of any serious effort to address the budget deficit—failure to act only leads to increased costs in the future.

Congress must make SGR repeal a priority for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Stay tuned for additional information over the coming weeks. The Patients’ Action Network will be providing regular and timely updates on the Super Committee, how their proposals may affect access to care for millions of Americans, and how you can ensure your voice is heard in this critical debate!

The AMA, along with ten other medical specialty societies, sent the following video message to Congress today explaining why a full repeal of Medicare’s flawed SGR formula needs to be included in the debt ceiling/ deficit reduction package currently being crafted.

American Medical Association President Cecil B. Wilson, M.D. recently testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee about the need to move beyond the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Without action by Congress, the SGR will trigger a Medicare physician payment cut of nearly 30 percent on January 1, 2012. Video of Dr. Wilson’s testimony can be found below.

Legislation concerning one of the American Medical Association’s top issues — medical liability reform — is moving forward in the U.S. House as the Energy and Commerce Committee considers H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act.

America’s patients, physicians, and taxpayers are breaking under the weight of meritless medical liability lawsuits. The numbers tell the story:

The current medical liability system fails both patients and physicians — it hurts the quality of patient care and costs the nation billions. For the health of American, we need medical liability reform now.

Patients can get involved and show support for H.R. 5 and medical liability reform by joining the AMA’s Patients’ Action Network (PAN). After joining, take these steps in support of H.R. 5.

1. Sign-up for the PAN and email your legislators.
2. Learn if your representative has sponsored or co-sponsored H.R. 5.
3. Call your representative using the toll-free PAN hotline at (888) 434-6200 and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 5. If they have already co-sponsored H.R. 5 thank them for supporting medical liability reform.
4. Follow the PAN on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news on medical liability reform and other issues affecting patients’ access to care.

To learn more about medical liability reform please visit our issue page.

There are a total of 20 physician members of the 112th Congress including three senators, 16 representatives and a delegate. This up from 16 physician members in the 111th Congress, an increase of 25 percent. Family medicine and obstetrics/ gynecology are the most represented medical specialties with four members each. Emergency medicine, ophthalmology and orthopedic surgery are each represented by two members of Congress while general surgery, cardio-thoracic surgery, thoracic surgery, gastroenterology, anesthesiology and psychiatry are represented with a single member.

Learn more about the 20 physician members of Congress by connecting with them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

House of Representatives

Rep. Dan Benishek, MD (R-MI-01)
General Surgery

Rep. Charles Boustany, MD (R-LA-07)
Cardio-Thoracic Surgery

Rep. Paul Broun, MD (R-GA-10)
Family Medicine

Rep. Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN-08)
Thoracic Surgery

Rep. Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX-26)
OB/GYN

Rep. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA-06)
Gastroenterology

Del. Donna Christensen, MD (D-VI-AL)
Emergency Medicine

Rep. Scott DesJarlais, MD (R-TN-04)
Family Medicine

Rep. John Fleming, MD (R-LA-04)
Family Medicine

Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-GA-11)
OB/GYN

Rep. Andy Harris, MD (R-MD-01)
Anesthesiology

Rep. Nan Hayworth, MD (R-NY-19)
Ophthalmology

Rep. Joe Heck, DO (R-NV-03)
Emergency Medicine

Rep. Jim McDermott, MD (D-WA-07)
Psychiatry

Rep. Ron Paul, MD (R-TX-14)
OB/GYN

Rep. Tom Price, MD (R-GA-06)
Orthopedic Surgery

Rep. David “Phil” Roe, MD (R-TN-01)
OB/GYN

Senate

Sen. John Barrasso, MD (R-WY)
Orthopedic Surgery

Sen. Tom Coburn, MD (R-OK)
Family Medicine

Sen. Rand Paul, MD (R-KY)
Ophthalmology

The multiple Medicare patches Congress passed in 2010 were only temporary reprieves for seniors and baby boomers who rely on the promise of Medicare. Delaying the problem is not a solution.

In January 2012, the Medicare physician payment cut will be a whopping 25 percent. Congress is playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette with seniors’ health care. Sick patients can’t wait. Congress must replace the broken payment system before the damage is done and cannot be reversed.

Seniors are already experiencing access problems as a result of the complete congressional mismanagement of Medicare over the years. Baby boomers begin entering Medicare in 2011, and if the physician payment problem isn’t fixed, these new Medicare patients won’t be able to find a doctor to treat them.

Failure by Congress and the Obama Administration to properly solve this issue will intensify access problems for seniors and military families enrolled in the TriCare program, and severely undermine implementation of recently enacted health system reform legislation. An existing physician shortage will be magnified and steeper cuts will prevent practice and delivery innovations.

Tell your members of Congress that it is time to end their mismanagement of these important health care programs, and honor their commitment to military families and older Americans. It is long past time for Congress to find a long-term solution to the SGR that does not create an even bigger problem in the future.

About one in four Medicare patients looking for a new primary care physician are having trouble finding one. About one in five physicians are already limiting the number of Medicare patients they treat because of the instability and uncertainty of Medicare payment. Couple these facts with a government-predicted shortage of 85,000 physicians by 2020 and the future for Medicare patients’ access to care is bleak—unless we take steps to turn the tide.

Please contact your members of Congress. Urge them to avert the 25 percent cut without increasing the cost of a permanent solution, and preserve access to medical services for Medicare patients and military families. Tell them enough is enough! Growing the problem is not the solution!

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590)—health system reform legislation signed into law by President Obama on March 23—contains a number of key provisions for patients. Some provisions may have an immediate impact, while others will not take effect for some time.

While we have compiled a number of resources about What Could Health System Reform Mean for You?, below is a snapshot of the benefit timeline.

Patient benefits that take effect in 2010

For patients with private health insurance:

• Your insurer can no longer drop you from your plan if you get sick.
• Children ages 18 and younger can no longer be denied private insurance coverage if they have a pre-existing medical condition.
• For adults with pre-existing medical conditions who cannot obtain private insurance coverage, a temporary national “high-risk pool” will be established to provide coverage, with financial subsidies to make premiums more affordable, until all insurers are required to cover people with pre-existing conditions in 2014.
• Young adults up to age 26 can remain as a dependent on their parents’ private health insurance plan.
• Your health insurance benefits can no longer run out because of a long or expensive illness because insurers can no longer impose lifetime financial limits on benefits.
• Preventive services for women, such as mammograms, and immunizations for children must be covered by insurers, with no co-payments or deductibles required.

In addition, Medicare patients who will hit the coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole” this year under the prescription drug benefit will receive a $250 rebate from Medicare.

Patient benefits that take effect during the next four years

In the private health insurance market:

• U.S. citizens and legal residents cannot be denied private health insurance coverage for any reason, beginning in 2014. All U.S. citizens and legal residents must obtain health insurance coverage or pay a minor tax penalty (although there are some exemptions). This is to ensure that everyone is in the insurance pool so no one can get a “free ride” by not having affordable coverage and then going to an emergency room for care.
• State-based health insurance exchanges will begin operating in 2014, where people who do not have access to employer-based insurance can shop and compare the benefits and costs of private health insurance plans. These exchanges will create insurance pools that will allow people to choose among affordable coverage options. All insurance companies in the exchange must provide at least a minimum benefit package, as well as additional coverage options beyond a basic plan.
• Federal subsidies through tax credits or vouchers will be provided in 2014 to people who cannot afford the full cost to help them purchase coverage through the exchanges.
• Beginning in 2011, states can require insurance companies to submit justification for premium increases and can impose penalties for excessive increases.

For patients enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid:

• You no longer will pay any cost-sharing for a number of preventive services, effective Jan. 1, 2011.
• If you are subject to the “doughnut hole” for your Medicare drug coverage, you will receive a 50 percent discount on those prescription drugs beginning Jan. 1, 2011.
• A series of pilot programs will be implemented during the next four years to help find new ways to improve quality and lower the cost of the care you receive from your doctors, hospitals and nursing homes in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
• Medicaid coverage will be expanded in 2014 to all eligible children, pregnant women, parents and childless adults under age 65 who have incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

Curious as to what the recent health system reform legislation means for you? Check out the following resources:

• Frequently asked questions about health system reform legislation – AMA
• Consumers’ Big Question: What’s in It for Me? – New York Times
• What does the health-care law mean to me? – Washington Post
• Health care: What you could see – USA Today
• How the health care overhaul could affect you – New York Times
• Q+A: How does healthcare overhaul affect Medicare? – Reuters
• The immediate effects of the health reform bill – Kaiser Health News
• 5 key things to remember about health care reform – CNN
• True or False: Seven Concerns About The New Health Law – Kaiser Health News
• Top 10 facts to know about health care reform – Politifact.com
• Health Care Reform Explained – AARP Bulletin
• What will health reform mean for you? – White House

Let us know if you come across any good sources of information and we will add it to this list.