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DGR Telephone:
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Follow APA Advocacy on Twitter!
The APA Department of Government Relations is now on Twitter! Now you can find out about APA Advocacy activities, Congressional hearings, mark-ups, and floor votes in real time.
Please click on the following link to start following APA Advocacy Twitter:
http://twitter.com/apa_
advocacy
Questions about the Twitter page or how to set up an account? Please contact Kate McAllister at advocacy@psych.org. |
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Urgent Medicare Physician Payment Update
On June 1, Congress allowed a drastic 21 percent cut in Medicare physician payment to take effect. This marks the third time this year that Congress failed to block the cut in the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) payment formula before the statutory deadline. To make matters worse, political roadblocks are sidelining efforts to postpone the cut through the end of 2011. CMS has instructed contractors to hold Medicare claims through Thursday, June 17, but if Congress has not acted by Friday, June 18, claims will be processed reflecting the 21 percent cut in payment.
Congress has worked for six months to circumvent this cut in payment, and once again we find ourselves in crunch time, urging congressional action to preserve Medicare payment. Congress must enact an SGR fix THIS WEEK to avoid a damaging disruption in delivery of care for Medicare beneficiaries. Physicians should rightly be outraged at the confusion and instability caused by the continued threat of dramatic cuts in payment.
Congress must step forward, put politics aside, and block these cuts. On May 28 the House passed a bill to delay the cuts through 2011, but the Senate has failed to act. Senate action continues to be hamstrung by the objection of some Senators to add to the federal deficit, particularly in view of the upcoming midterm elections.
We urge our grassroots network to call on Senators to stop playing politics, block these cuts, and repeal the flawed SGR formula for physician payment under Medicare. To view our action alert, click here:
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APA Files Comments on DEA Interim Final Rule on Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances
On June 1, DGR filed APA's comments on the Drug Enforcement Administration's interim final rule on e-prescribing for controlled substances. The IFR, which became effective June 1, outlines the software and technical requirements for physicians to begin to prescribe all scheduled drugs electronically. E-prescribing for controlled substances remains optional for physicians. For those physicians who would like to prescribe controlled substances electronically, the DEA requires physicians to use two of the following three methods to authenticate their prescriptions: 1) password; 2) biometric (i.e. thumbprint); and 3) hard token (i.e. USB drive). While the DEA made a number of positive changes in the final rule, APA's comment letter expressed continued concerns about the rule's requirements, which may be overly burdensome to physicians. APA had also joined a letter from AMA and other medical specialties expressing similar concerns. You can access [APA's comment letter] and [AMA's comment letter and fact sheet] through the attached links.
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FTC delays enforcement of Red Flags Rule again; AMA files lawsuit
On May 28, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that, for the fifth time, it will again delay enforcement date of the Red Flags Rule-this time through December 31, 2010. APA has repeatedly joined the AMA and other specialty groups in disagreeing with the FTC's view that any physician who does not require payment at the time patients receive medical services is bound to comply with the Red Flags Rule, which requires creditors to develop and implement written identify theft programs. On May 21, the AMA, along with the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC) filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to prevent the FTC from applying the Red Flags Rule to physicians. |
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