ALERT ON PHYSICIAN PAYMENT - NOVEMBER 2011

In October, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released final policy recommendations that replace the sustainable growth rate (SGR) with a new payment model that would significantly reduce reimbursement to specialty physicians. Under this new model, Medicare payments to specialty physicians would be reduced by 5.9 percent per year for years 2012-2014, followed by seven years of payment freezes. Primary care physicians would be exempt from any payment reductions and would receive a payment freeze for the ten year period.

Rep. Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX) and Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) are leading a letter addressed to Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, Minority Leader Pelosi, and Minority Whip Hoyer expressing opposition to this recommendation and urging MedPAC to review alternative policies that provide a balanced and equitable approach to the repeal of the SGR.

ACC, along with other specialty physician professional societies, is joining the effort to ask our membership to reach out to their Representatives to urge them to join this letter led by Reps. Burgess and Green. We encourage you to act today to ask your Member of Congress to sign on.

Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be put through to your Representative's office. Once connected, ask to speak to the health legislative assistant and tell them that you would like your Representative to sign on to the letter led by Reps. Michael Burgess and Gene Green opposing MedPAC's SGR policy alternative. If you would like to send your representative a letter, please click here.