MEDICARE SGR ALERT: Physicians: Call Congress Now! March 14, 2014 Alert, General ACA, Healthcare policy, HR 4015, Medicare SGR 0 PROTECT ACCESS TO CARE IN CALIFORNIA DON'T PATCH IT, REPEAL IT! MEDICARE SGR REPEAL AND PAYMENT REFORM: HR 4015/S 2000 Physicians: Call Congress Now! (800) 833-6354 (Takes 2 Min) UPDATE MARCH 11, 2014: House Republican leaders have scheduled a vote for this week on H.R. 4015, with a repeal of the ACA individual mandate as the funding source. (If the mandate is repealed, the government will spend less on premium subsidies and thus, a substantial cost savings will occur.) This repeal of the ACA is not an acceptable, viable funding option in the U.S. Senate. Knowing that the ACA repeal will not be accepted, House leaders have scheduled a second vote at the end of March to adopt another nine-month patch. CMA is urging Congress to find bipartisan funding sources. We are opposing another nine-month patch. CMA is calling upon Congress to Fix Medicare Now! A long-awaited and hard-fought bill to permanently repeal Medicare's fatally flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula finally is before Congress. The SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4015/S. 2000) offers a fiscally prudent opportunity for lawmakers to repeal the SGR formula and put Medicare on the path toward a stable, 21st-century program that can meet the growing health care needs of the nation's seniors. This is the most progress Congress has made in a decade. We must seize this opportunity and make a final push to get this bill passed NOW. To sustain the bipartisan momentum, your Congressional representatives need to hear from you. There are many powerful groups that are pushing back, objecting to Congress' plans for funding the physician payment fix. That's where you come in. To overcome the opposition, Congress needs to hear from a large volume of physicians. Every single physician needs to call and email the California Senators and your Member of Congress NOW! Congress has a significant opportunity to finally repeal the SGR and enact payment reform. Why? The cost to repeal the SGR is at an all-time low of $116 billion - down from $238 billion. Congress has already spent $154 billion over the last decade adopting short-term patches to stop the SGR cuts - more than the total cost to repeal the SGR. It is fiscally irresponsible to adopt another one-year SGR patch. The Wall Street Journal calls the "patches" a sham. There is a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on legislation to establish a new payment system. The deadline is March 31, 2014, when the next 24 percent SGR cut occurs. But reform won't happen unless Congress hears from thousands of physicians! Physicians must call Congress to fix Medicare now! To overcome the partisan funding proposals and the other opposition, Congress needs to hear from a large volume of physicians. Every physician needs to call and email the California Senators and your Member of Congress NOW! Please make as many calls and send as many emails as possible. Every one makes a difference! We are asking physicians to call/email the following individuals: Your local congressional representative (use your local zip code) California Senator Barbara Boxer California Senator Dianne Feinstein House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy (zip code 93309) House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (zip code 94103) To contact members of Congress: Call AMA's Grassroots Hotline, (800) 833-6354, to be connected with your members of Congress in Washington. You will be asked to enter your zip code and select your representative. You are also encouraged to call your representatives in their local district offices (click here to download a current telephone roster). You may also email your federal legislators via the AMA's "Fix Medicare Now" grassroots website. Utilizing the sample letter provided, it takes no more than two minutes. Urge Congress to tell their House and Senate leadership to: 1. Protect access to care in California and enact Medicare physician payment reform NOW. 2. The cost to fix the Medicare SGR is at an all-time low and there is bipartisan agreement on the legislation. 3. Use bipartisan funding sources. 4. Oppose another one-year SGR patch. Ask your patients to help: AMA has also prepared a flyer that you can use to get your patients involved in the fight to protect Medicare. Distribute the AMA's "Fix Medicare Now" flyer to your patients and ask them to call their representatives, too. Additional information: Bill Summary CMA letter to Congress AMA Fix Medicare Now website Comments are closed.