Chair of AMA board says farewell -- but not goodbye

AMA Leader Commentary. By D. Ted Lewers, MD. June 4, 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.

There's only one way to be sure you're on the road to success: Check for construction.

This is especially true in our profession. The practice of medicine is constantly changing. So, too, is health care delivery. And organized medicine must change in response.

During the two years I have spent as chair of the AMA board, I have seen a lot of construction. But just because success is a work in progress doesn't mean we can't point to achievements -- and because this is my last column as chair, it seems a particularly good time to take stock.

Let's start with Medicare.

Thanks primarily to the work of your AMA, American physicians saw a payment update of 5.4% in 2000, followed by a 4.5% update in 2001.

How did we do it? The AMA advocated and worked hard -- successfully -- for important provisions in the 1999 Balanced Budget Refinement Act. These changes forced HCFA to correct errors in its projections that determine the sustainable growth rate -- and thus the spending targets that help determine doctor pay updates.

Next year, physicians will continue to benefit from our work. Initial estimates for 2002 indicate that the SGR will increase 6% -- the highest preliminary estimate ever provided. If enacted, such an increase would likely translate into a significant payment update for physicians in 2002.

However, it's not clear how much longer the SGR will be in place. Now that we've explained all the problems with the current system, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has concluded that it's true -- the SGR doesn't take into account all the factors that affect how much physician services cost, and we might just need a whole new system. [...]