Policy leaders tell AMA physicians: Medicare pay reform is a priority

Ideas in addition to damage caps are needed to pass tort reform in the Senate, Sen. Clinton told doctors at the AMA National Advocacy Conference.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. March 27, 2006.

Washington -- This year will be a big one for the issue of federal reimbursements to physicians, bringing with it a continuing need for doctors to meet policymakers half way, congressional and administration leaders told the American Medical Association this month.

Medicare payment reform featured heavily in addresses by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, N.Y.) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, at the March 14 AMA National Advocacy Conference in Washington. Both speakers said the system for reimbursing doctors for services is unsustainable and must be repaired, with a good deal of help from physicians.

"We're at a crossroads," Dr. McClellan said. "We can continue to haggle over incremental revisions, so-called short-term fixes ... that have the effect of digging a deeper hole for the long run. Or with the continuing leadership of the AMA and with the involvement of physicians from around the country, we can shape better support for a physician-led effort to promote higher quality and lower costs."

Rep. Nathan Deal (R, Ga.), House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee chair, said that lawmakers face tough financial realities when it comes to overhauling the payment formula.

"The trouble is that the fixes are very expensive," he said.

Both Clinton and Dr. McClellan lauded the AMA for taking a big first step toward achieving comprehensive payment reform by agreeing to develop scores of Medicare quality measures for voluntary reporting, starting next year.