New Medicare initiatives give hope for change at HCFA

AMA Leader Commentary. By D. Ted Lewers, MD Chair, AMA Board of Trustees. May 7, 2001.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from D. Ted Lewers, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees.

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and just hang on. That's what the AMA has done for years in its efforts to cut the regulatory burden for physicians who care for Medicare patients. This year, our perseverance is paying off.

So what's the good news? The Health Care Financing Administration is not only listening to our concerns, it is also establishing tangible goals based on our input -- and dedicating resources to meeting those goals. While we still await definitive action, we are beginning to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Five projects that HCFA has identified include:

• Coverage across local carriers for preoperative evaluations.
• Coverage across local carriers for follow-up visits for cancer patients.
• Simplification of the advance beneficiary notice.
• Revision of the medical necessity form -- and the procedures for using it.
• Establishment of consistent, national guidelines regarding laboratory services.

Before we get to the details, I want to address one question that I hope is on your mind: How did we progress from the end of our tether to talk of reform?

Back in 1997, the Mayo clinic and other organizations within organized medicine started tallying the thousands upon thousands of pages of Medicare regulations that physicians were expected to understand and follow. The AMA likewise raised the rallying cry for change, over and over -- and, in short, someone at HCFA finally heard. [...]