Medicare Physician Payment Action Kit
Before a scheduled 27 percent Medicare pay cut was able to take effect on Jan 1 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives reached agreement with the Senate on a two-month extension of important policies.
AMA President Peter W. Carmel, MD, called on Congress to "enact a real and fiscally responsible solution to this sorry cycle of scheduled cuts and short-term patches that compromises access to care for patients and drives up costs for taxpayers. Members of Congress need to use this time to work in a bipartisan manner to provide long-term stability for seniors, military families and the physicians who care for them."
Now is the time for Congress to come together and permanently repeal the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and the AMA has developed new messaging and talking points that outline why this is the fiscally responsible approach - see column to the right under "Related Links."
What can physicians do now?
Register your strong concerns with your members of Congress that yet another SGR deadline is approaching and Congress has yet to act. Call the AMA grassroots hotline at (800) 833-6354 and ask your representatives and senators what specific steps they will take to end the annual SGR fiasco.
AMA advocacy on SGR repeal
You can explore the AMA’s recent and ongoing advocacy on this issue by exploring the Medicare Physician Payment Action Kit, which is the compilation of resources found on this page.
From information on the AMA's multi-million dollar 2011 fall ad campaign that urged Congress to fix Medicare, to AMA lobbying correspondence and issue background, these resources provide insight into the SGR issue and illustrate the need to find a permanent solution. The AMA encourages all physicians in the country to contact their members of Congress and ask them what specific steps they will take to end the annual SGR fiasco.
Physicians got a brief reprieve from a 27 percent Medicare pay cut as the U.S. House of Representatives reached agreement with the Senate on a two-month extension of important policies that expire on Jan. 1.
AMA President Peter W. Carmel, MD, called on Congress to "enact a real and fiscally responsible solution to this sorry cycle of scheduled cuts and short-term patches that compromises access to care for patients and drives up costs for taxpayers. Members of Congress need to use this time to work in a bipartisan manner to provide long-term stability for seniors, military families and the physicians who care for them."
Meantime, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the annual Medicare participation enrollment period through Feb. 14. The previous deadline was Dec. 31.
The effective date for any participation status change during the extension, however, remains Jan. 1, and will be enforced for the entire year. According to CMS, contractors will accept and process any participation elections or withdrawals made during the extended enrollment period that are post-marked on or before Feb. 14.
Stay tuned for further updates and for ways to get involved to end this cycle of short-term Medicare patches.
The AMA launched a campaign in January 2012 to urge patients and physicians to tell Congress that the time for repeal of the broken Medicare physician payment formula is now. The video below is part of the AMA's grassroots effort to urge patients and physicians to contact Congress and encourage repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula before the 27.4 percent cut occurs on March.
Select your state below to see how the looming Medicare cuts will affect access to care. Patients in many areas of the country already face problems getting physician care, and the problems will get worse unless Congress acts quickly to prevent the cuts and works to repeal the broken Medicare physician payment formula.
Now is the time to repeal the SGR
Implications of a one‐year Medicare payment freeze
Implications of a two‐year Medicare payment freeze
The Growing Cost of Repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Formula
Medicare and Tricare Patient's Flyer
SGR Budget Proposals Across Political Spectrum
Congressional Budget Office SGR Projections Chart
AMA Analysis: 2012 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule Final Rule
2012 Medicare Physician Payment Proposed Rule - AMA Comments
2012 Medicare physician payment proposed rule summary and analysis
SGR reform: Delay means higher cost
Chart: practice costs vs Medicare payments
AMA Survey of American Public on Medicare Physician Payment Cuts
The Impact of Medicare Physician Payment on Seniors Access To Care - AMA Online Survey of Physicians
AMA Survey of American Public on Medicare Physician Payment Cuts
The Impact of Medicare Physician Payment on Seniors Access To Care - AMA Online Survey of Physicians
Sign-on letter to Conferees re: SGR Repeal, January 23, 2012
Letter to Physician Members of the Doctors Caucus urging SGR Repeal, November 17, 2011
Sign-on letter to Deficit Reduction Committee urging repeal of the SGR, November 10, 2011
Beneficiary-Provider letter to Congress, October 20, 2011
Sign-on Letter to MedPAC on SGR, October 3, 2011
W&M Testimony, "Expiring Medicare Provider Payment Policies," September 21, 2011
Sign-on letter to Sen. Murray, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, September 20, 2011
Sign-on letter to Rep. Hensarling, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, September 20, 2011
Sign-on letter to President Obama to repeal the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate, June 27, 2011
E&C Testimony, "The Need to Move Beyond the SGR," May 5, 2011
Letter to the Senate urging elimination of the SGR, March 10, 2011
Letter to the House urging elimination of the SGR, March 10, 2011
