On Wednesday, Nov 17, the AMA is urging physicians to call their congressional delegation to beg for another reprieve from the scheduled Medicare fee cut. This game of “chicken” has been going on for 8 years now. http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/001097
AAPS consistently sends a better message: Never mind the “sustained growth rate” (SGR). Do away with the price controls—the ban on balance billing. Allow patients and doctors to contract privately, without government interference.
We know that Medicare is insolvent. It will be cutting payouts because it has no money. But it does not have the constitutional authority to deny seniors access to care.
Medicare has the power to determine reimbursement any way it likes. Currently it uses the values set by the 29 members of the powerful, secretive RUC (Relative Value Scale Update Committee), which is convened by the AMA. These Solomons determine how to divvy up the $60 billion that Medicare spends on physicians’ fees. Then the government sets the “conversion factor” in an effort to determine total outlay.
But the federal government should not be dictating fees. Only patients and doctors can determine a fair fee that will allow the doctor to keep his office open so his patients can continue to receive care.
We agree with the AMA on one thing: physicians should be re-evaluating their Medicare status. Finally, the AMA is making its members aware of the possibility of opting out. (AAPS is the number one site for information on how to do this.)
We suggest you call your Senators and Congressman (the Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121) or find your Congressman’s and Senators’ contact information at http://www.contactingthecongress.org/.
Tell them that Congress should:
- Free patients from the price controls that are destroying their access to care. Doctors should set fees; Medicare should only set reimbursement.
- Never mind the SGR. Eliminate the ban on balance billing and the penalties for charging a fee different from the one calculated by CMS.
- Allow unrestricted private contracting outside of Medicare.
- Be aware that if Congress does not act, you will (opt out of Medicare; stop seeing Medicare patients, cut certain services, retire, etc.).
Note that this Wednesday will also be the first time that new CMS head Donald Berwick, M.D., will appear before Congress. He will testify before the Senate Finance Committee, which will hold a hearing on the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or ObamaCare) on seniors and consumers.
3 thoughts on “Action Alert, Tell Congress – Never mind the SGR, do away with price controls”
Hey fellow AAPS members, why not stop wasting your time fretting and worrying about the decisions of the brainless and corrupt in DC? Isn’t it time you advocate directly for your patients and contracted directly with them? Isn’t it time for you to Opt-out of Medicare? Why haven’t you done that yet?
Is it because you are still making more money by gaming Medicare than you would if you opted-out? I am proud of the AAPS and am kindred with its members yet a little disappointed that there are so few of us who “put their money where their mouth is”, stand up for their patients, their principles and for the defense of freedom in medicine. You undermine your efforts against MCR by continuing to take their money and participate in the awful system they created.
Come on! Do it. Opt out as I did and risk making less money (or not) and enjoy a wonderful carreer!
I have sent the following message to my congress-persons:
I am a Endocrinologist in private practice who still treats Medicare patients. Some will be urging you to put a patch on the SGR-determined fee scale to prevent thousands of physicians from opting out of Medicare.
Instead, I would urge you to sponsor a measure to end the ability of Medicare to dictate fees. Allow physicians to collect the fee that is determined by the marketplace, with Medicare reimbursing the patient the amount the plan is able. Our Federal government does not set lawyers’ fees, plumbers’ fees, or lobbyists’ fees.
Abolishing CMS’s ability to fix fees is the only ethical and practical solution to keep Medicare solvent and restore to physicians their constitutional right to manage their own practice as they see fit. Why must I “charge” the millionaire patients the same as I charge the indigent Medicare/Medicaid patient?
Thank you for listening.
How long are we going to cooperate with the government in un-Constitutional rules and regulations? We are in slavery because we have allowed the government spider to weave his incremental web around us. Now that he is sucking the lifeblood from us and our country, do we have the will to throw off the shackles? Or do we just once again look the other way and die?
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