OPINIONWorking today for a hassle-free Medicare tomorrowAMA Leader Commentary. By D. Ted Lewers, MD. March 5, 2001. A message to all physicians from D. Ted Lewers, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. Have you ever discovered that the regulations governing Medicare have changed yet again -- just when you finally figured out how the most recent decree affected your practice? Or have you ever wondered why no one considered the burdensome complexity of a particular regulation -- never mind the cost? Have you ever found yourself raging at the latest Health Care Financing Administration news report -- a report that still does not address your most basic questions? Or have you simply buried your head in the sand, hoping that the government won't encroach any further on your practice of medicine? I'll bet you've done all of the above and more, at one time or another. What physician who cares for Medicare patients hasn't? But the AMA believes we need to do more than rage or despair or deny. We need to act -- and to start getting the many-headed Medicare monster back under control. The AMA has long recognized that regulatory burdens are a vital issue for physicians. That's why we fought so hard to change how HCFA estimated the sustainable growth rate, and thus how we helped get physician payment updates of 5.4% and 4.5% in 2000 and 2001, respectively. It was physician outrage that prompted us to insist that HCFA bring back its toll-free lines and end the use of proprietary or "black box" coding edits. These were important AMA responses to HCFA's shortsightedness, and we were proud to serve. Nonetheless, we recognize that regulatory reform does not end with these measures. That's why we're planning to mount an aggressive campaign to change how Medicare regulations are created -- and enforced. In recent weeks, we've been meeting with specialty society representatives and key Congressional staffers to support what's being called the Medicare Education and Regulatory Fairness Act. This proposed legislation would address a number of the most serious problems physicians encounter with Medicare.
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Copyright 2001 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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