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Legislation To Stop Impending Medicare Physician Pay Cuts
Urge your U.S. Representative and Senators to support legislation to stop 2006 physician pay cuts. To send a letter to Congress, please click the take action button below. Until Congress takes action, Medicare will cut physician reimbursements by 4.4% beginning January 1, 2006.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , As a hematologist who takes care of patients, I write to urge you to stop Medicare physician pay cuts implemented January 1. There is bipartisan agreement that this cut must be stopped and both the House and Senate have passed legislation to provide a freeze in physician payment for CY 2006. However, procedural issues prevented the House from taking final action. The current physician payment cuts are extremely detrimental to my practice and the patients I treat. Please support House action immediately to stop the current payment cuts and retroactively adjust payments.
Sincerely, |
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| Background Information |
The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula ties Medicare reimbursement to economic performance. However; medical needs of beneficiaries do not decrease when the economy slows, or vice versa. Thus, the SGR does not keep pace with the economy. Without immediate action by Congress, physicians will face cuts to Medicare reimbursement not just in 2006, but in subsequent years for an estimated 26% decrease in reimbursement.
Legislation to freeze Medicare physician payments in 2006 and avoid a 4.4 percent cut is pending in the House of Representatives. Although the legislation was passed by both the House and Senate in December 2005, it is part of a larger budget bill that includes several controversial provisions. A procedural matter requires that the House of Representatives pass this legislation again. Until the House takes action, a 4.4 percent Medicare physician payment cut is in effect.
