The Governor's Message
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Dear Oregon Chapter ACC,
Please join together in contacting our congressional delegation. I know you are burned out about this, but YOU do make a difference.
Our patients will be severely impacted in access if this is not reversed.
Sandra Lewis, MD FACC
Governor, Oregon Chapter
American College of Cardiology
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The elections are over, and Congress is back in Washington, D.C. this week and we're again faced with a 23 percent Medicare payment cut on Dec. 1 and another cut of 6.5 percent cut on Jan. 1, 2011 unless Congress acts to intervene.
The ACC -- along with other medical specialties -- calls upon Congress to act before Thanksgiving to provide a positive update with at least 13-months of stability through 2011. This short-term fix would allow the new Congress to sort through various options aimed at putting the Medicare SGR physician payment formula on a pathway toward permanent repeal.
Physicians across the country are tired of Congress's short term budgetary solutions to this ongoing physician payment crisis. This year alone, Congress approved and allowed to expire, four short term freezes in Medicare payment without addressing the growing problem. If allowed to continue, the cuts that are scheduled to go into effect on December 1 will impact your patients the most --- leading to less access, higher fees, and longer waits.
All ACC members are encouraged to call their lawmakers today and strongly urge them to act on the SGR before cuts go in to effect on Dec. 1. Call your members of Congress on the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
We know that you are tired of contacting Congress on this issue, however please know that you are not alone and your calls are needed now more than ever. The entire House of Medicine is united in its fight for a permanent repeal of this flawed payment formula.
Thank you for taking the time to speak on behalf of your patients and your profession. |
