President Barack Obama will speak at the AMA's 158th annual meeting in Chicago Monday. Medicare and physician payments will be part of the overall health care reform discussion. For an idea of what the president will say, here are excerpts from a Medicare fact sheet from the White House. In brief, pay rates in Medicare need to be fixed and the trust fund needs reworking.
Productivity in the U.S. economy has been improving over time. However, most Medicare payments have not been systematically adjusted to reflect these system-wide improvements. We should permanently adjust most annual Medicare payment updates by half of the economy-wide productivity factor estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This adjustment will encourage greater efficiency in health care provision, while more accurately aligning Medicare payments with provider costs.
...
To provide more accurate payment for physician imaging services, the [HHS] would increase the equipment utilization factor for advanced imaging (such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) machines) from 50 percent to 95 percent. This proposal - which is closely aligned with a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommendation - would better reflect how these technologies are actually used.
...
The establishment of a competitive system where payments are based upon an average of plans' bids submitted to Medicare would save taxpayers close to $177 billion over 10 years, as well as reduce Part B premiums.
Update: In a statement, AMA President Nancy Nielsen MD says:
"Today, the American Medical Association is honored that President Obama will speak directly to physicians at our annual meeting. Like President Obama, the AMA is committed to health reform this year that provides all Americans with affordable, high-quality health coverage.
"The AMA is actively engaged with the administration and members of Congress to achieve coverage for all this year and other meaningful reforms that benefit patients and physicians.
"The AMA is focused on reform that covers the uninsured, makes insurance more affordable, increases the value we receive from our health care spending and enhances prevention and wellness for all patients. We look forward to the day when all Americans have health care coverage."