Congress' Medicare advisory commission says stop Medicare cuts to physicians

For immediate release
March 11, 2008

Statement attributable to:
Nancy Nielsen, MD
AMA President-elect

"Today, Congress' advisory committee on Medicare goes to Capitol Hill to advise lawmakers to replace Medicare payment cuts to physicians with increases that reflect medical practice costs. The American Medical Association wholeheartedly agrees with this recommendation to preserve seniors' access to care.

"If Congress does not take action before July 1, physicians caring for Medicare patients will be hit with a 10.6 percent payment cut this year. Seniors and their physicians need Congress to enact an important mid-year update to preserve seniors' access to care. A full 60 percent of physicians say a cut of this magnitude will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat, and more than half say it will force them to reduce their medical office staff.

"The AMA calls on Congress to replace 18 months of looming Medicare physician payment cuts, which begin this July, with funded payment updates that reflect medical practice cost increases. This sensible approach will give Congress time to work with physicians to legislate a solution to the long-term Medicare physician payment problem.

"Making Medicare sustainable in the long-term is critical to ensure the program will be there for generations to come. The AMA agrees with MedPAC that we must address this issue through innovative solutions like comparative effectiveness research."

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For more information, please contact:

Katherine M. Hatwell
Senior Public Information Officer
AMA Media Relations
(202) 789-7419