AMA to NY Sun: 'The health care rub'

New York Sun
Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

In just five words, Diana Furchtgott-Roth cut to the heart of the Medicare physician payment problem when she stated in her op-ed that "cutting reimbursements affects patient service" (The Health Care Rub, Jan. 16 2008). An American Medical Association survey found that if this year's 10 percent Medicare physician payment cut occurs in June as planned, 60 percent of physicians will be forced to limit the number of new Medicare patients they could treat.

It is imperative that Congress tackle this problem head-on in the next few months by passing legislation that raises payments in line with medical practice costs for 18 months. This will give legislators time to begin creating a new payment system for physicians that will ensure that seniors don't have to worry about whether a physician can care for them.

In just three short years, the baby boomers begin aging into Medicare. With a projected physician shortage and plunging Medicare payment rates, this huge influx of new Medicare patients will have a hard time finding physicians to care for them unless Congress takes action now to fix the problem.

Sincerely,

Ronald M. Davis, MD
President, American Medical Association