Skip Navigation LinksHome | Editors' Blog | Post

AMA mounts PR charge to stop 21% pay cut on March 1

Nancy Nielsen, immediate past-president of the AMA, address reporters Jan. 21 (photo by Grant Huang)The 21.3% cut to your Medicare payments is but five weeks away, a fact that the AMA is keenly aware of. To spur Congress into action, top AMA officials mounted a media blitz last week, beginning with a barrage of press releases and climaxing with a high-tech press conference Jan. 21 at the National Press Club in Washington. They also aired this nifty little TV ad, which you can stream from YouTube in the video below.

I stopped by the Press Club to hear the AMA's plan to stop the pay cut. To bolster its arsenal, the AMA event included top officials from the AARP and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), all of whom have a stake in physician payment.

When physicians are suddenly paid 21% less than before for Medicare services, access to care for seniors (AARP) and veterans (MOAA) will plummet, said AMA Immediate Past-President Nancy Nielsen, MD, who was joined by AARP and MOAA leadership from Wisconsin, North Dakota, Virginia and Maine via teleconferencing.

"Time is running out," she said. Congress has about 24 working days left to come up with some sort of solution, and the AMA wants nothing less than a permanent fix to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula responsible for year-after-year of projected cuts.

We previously predicted that 2010 will be the year of the permanent SGR fix (PBN 1/4/10), but the election of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts may complicate matters.

The reporters with me at the conference, who've heard all of this before, were skeptical. "Can you tell me what your proposal is for a permanent fix?" asked Newsweek's Robert Samuelson.

Nielsen cited the AMA's participation in various cost-containment discussions during the ramp-up to drafting health reform legislation, but said ultimately that it's not the AMA's job "to come up with the money to fix a flawed formula. Congress devised the formula and it's to Congress to fix."

The reporters weren't willing to let Nielsen off the hook just yet. "Right now, there's an intense problem coming up with money to pay for health care related expenses," The Los Angeles Times reporter said. "Do you not have any suggestions on how the federal government can fund a permanent SGR fix?"

"They have found money to do other things that they feel are important," Nielsen countered. "It's time now for Congress to work with us and try hard to figure out how we're going to permanently fix this. To not do it now would be fiscally irresponsible."

And... stalemate. I guess it's up to my full story, available in the next issue of Part B News, to continue the discussion. Stay tuned for the full piece, which will include analysis from outside experts on what you can expect March 1.

To comment, login here.
Reader Comments (0)

Login

User Name:
Password:
Welcome to the new Part B News Online. If you are a returning user having trouble logging in, please click here.
Back to top