Rep. Foster Votes To Improve Health Care Services For Medicare Patients And Physicians

Press Release

Rep. Foster Votes To Improve Health Care Services For Medicare Patients And Physicians

Today, Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to preserve seniors' access to their doctors by fixing the way Medicare pays physicians by supporting H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act. The vote passed the House by a vote of 243-183.

"This legislation would permanently reform the way Medicare pays physicians," said Foster. "Seniors are often concerned that physician pay cuts would mean that their doctors will stop seeing Medicare patients, but this bill will ensure that doctors will receive the reimbursement they need and deserve, allowing seniors to continue to access the doctors they know and trust."

The bill will repeal a 21 percent fee reduction that is scheduled for January 2010 and replace it with a stable system that ends the cycle of threats of ever-larger fee cuts followed by short term patches.

"I am pleased that Congress is taking the long-term view of this issue, as permanent reform of physician payments in Medicare will guarantee that Medicare beneficiaries continue to enjoy the excellent access to care that they do today," said Foster.

The legislation also ends a budget gimmick that artificially reduces the deficit by assuming physician payments will be cut by 40 percent over the next several years even though Congress has consistently intervened to prevent those cuts from occurring.

H.R. 3961 is supported a variety of organizations, including the American Medical Association, AARP, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

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