Goode News for November 22, 2006

Goode News for November 22, 2006

One item that must be addressed before the 109th Congress adjourns is the pending payment cuts in Medicare reimbursements to physicians and health care professionals. Without quick action by Congress, the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula will cut these payments by almost five percent, effective January 1, 2007.

When added to the additional cuts required under current law through 2015, physician payments will be reduced by a total of 37 percent, even as liability insurance, fuel and other costs escalate more rapidly than inflation and the need to invest in health information technology to improve care quality is increasingly important.

There are two bills before the House that address these pending cuts: HR 3617 and HR 2356. The former amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for value-based purchasing in the payment for physicians' services under the Medicare program. It also establishes updates to the single conversion factor for 2006 through 2009 and succeeding years for such services. Meanwhile, HR 2356 amends title XVIII to: (1) eliminate the sustainable growth rate payment update system; and (2) establish in its place an update to the single conversion factor for 2006 of at least 2.7 percent, and a formula for an update to the single conversion factor for years beginning with 2007.

Those of us who support these bills believe that we as a nation must avoid the needless and expensive upheaval required to fix physician payments, as we did this year. At a minimum, we must provide a modest increase for physicians as they received a zero increase this year and are being encouraged to adopt health information technology.

In the estimation of many of us in the House of Representatives, physicians are the foundation of out nation's health care system. A stable and predictable payment law for physician service delivery is critical to preserving a patient-centered care system. Our view is that a lack of predictability in Medicare payments encourages older physicians with older patients to retire early and discourages younger doctors from entering specialities that treat predominantly Medicare patients. In short, these projected cuts will destabilize the Medicare program and put all patients' access to health care at risk.

The Congressionally-created Council on Graduate Medical Education is predicting a shortage of 85,000 physicians by 2020. Multi-year cuts in Medicare will likely exacerbate this shortage. In addition, the five-year review of what are called "relative value units" makes important strides in adjusting for long-standing payment inequities, but the budget neutrality requirement, especially in the absence of an increase in payment, will further cut many physicians' reimbursement. The lack of an overall increase in physician payments undermines the keystone of Medicare: the widespread participation by top-notch physicians.

Please keep in touch with me on issues that are important to you. You may write Congressman Virgil Goode, 70 East Court Street, Room 215, Rocky Mount, VA 24151; or fax to 1-540-484-1459; or call toll-free to the Danville office, 1-800-535-4008.

http://www.house.gov/goode/20061122.shtml