December 19, 2007
Subject:
GOAL Advocacy Alert - Congress Acts on Physician Payment
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Congress
Approves Six Month Delay in Medicare Payment Cuts
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More Info
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Impending
Cut Replaced with 0.5% Increase
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The
United States Congress has approved the
“Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of
2007” (S. 2499), legislation that prevents the
scheduled 10.1 percent cut in Medicare physician
payments and extends authorization for the State
Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The
Senate approved the legislation by voice vote on
December 18. The House quickly approved the
legislation on December 19. President
Bush is expected to sign the legislation
into law later this week.
The
final compromise bill falls far short of the
policy objectives advanced by the American
Osteopathic Association and other physician
organizations over the past year and falls well
short of the provisions included in the House
approved “Children’s Health and Medicare
Protection Act of 2007” (H.R. 3162). However,
the legislation prevents the application of the
largest single year cut in the history of the
Medicare program. While we are disappointed with
the final package, we are optimistic that we can
build upon recent negotiations to advance more
meaningful legislation in the first six months of
2008.
The
following is a summary of the major provisions
included in the “Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP
Extension Act of 2007” (S. 2499):
- Physician
Payment—Prevents
scheduled 10.1% cut in Medicare physician
reimbursements. Replaces scheduled cut with a
0.5% increase through June 30, 2008.
- SCHIP—Extends
SCHIP funding through March 31, 2009. Imposes
a six-month delay on implementation of
proposed administrative regulations relating
to school-based services and rehabilitation
services.
- Work
Geographic Adjustment—Extends
the work geographic index (GPCI) floor of 1.0
through June 30, 2008.
- Medicare
Scarcity Payments—
Extends provisions that provide a 5% bonus
payment to physicians practicing in physician
shortage areas through June 30, 2008.
- PQRI—Extends
the physician quality reporting system and
revises the Physician Assistance and Quality
Initiative fund (more details once we see
legislative language)
- Therapy
Caps—Extends
exceptions to therapy cap through June 30,
2008.
- Medicare
Advantage Stabilization Fund—Removes
$1.5 billion in 2012.
- Inpatient
Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Services—Permanently
freezes the inpatient rehabilitation services
compliance threshold at 60%, effective for
cost reporting periods starting July 1, 2006,
and allows co-morbid conditions to count
toward this threshold.
- Military
Physicians—Permits
physicians in the armed services to engage in
substitute billing arrangements for longer
than 60 days when they are ordered to active
duty.
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November 2, 2007
Immediate
Action Needed: Advocacy Alert on Medicare Physician Payment
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Please
Note: the
CHAMP Act is H.R. 3162 not H.R. 3962 as initially
noted.
To:
Osteopathic State Organizations
Osteopathic Specialty Organizations
Student Osteopathic Medical Association
Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents
From:
Marcelino Oliva, DO
Chairman, Bureau on Federal Health Programs
Date:
November 2, 2007
Subject:
Advocacy Alert on Medicare Physician Payment
As
you know, all physicians participating in the Medicare
program face a dramatic cut of 9.9 percent in their
reimbursements on January 1, 2008. The AOA, along with
each of your organizations, have worked throughout the
year to advance policies that would avert this cut and
reform the current payment formula. Our efforts did not
go unrewarded. The House of Representatives, as part of
the "Children's Health and Medicare Protection
Act" (H.R. 3162), approved provisions that would
provide all physicians with a positive payment update of
.5 percent in 2008 and 2009. Additionally, the
legislation put in place a pathway to reforming the
current payment formula and replacing it with a system
that is both more fair and equitable. Unfortunately, the
United States Senate has failed to act.
We
are now less than 60 days from this draconian cut being
implemented. We can no longer sit by and allow the
Senate to ignore the physician community. We must
amplify our voices and tell the Senate to act-this
year-and in a productive manner.
On
November 6, 7, and 8, the AOA is joining over 70 other
physician and other health care organizations to conduct
three "Virtual Lobby Days" aimed at raising
awareness about this issue with the United States
Senate. Over these three days, we are asking physicians,
their staff, their families, and most importantly their
patients to place calls to their two Senators and tell
them that they expect the Senate to address this problem
before the end of the year.
We
urge you to share the attached information with
your members and affiliated groups. If each physician
places a call and encourages their family to do the
same, we should generate tens of thousands of phone
calls over the three days. Regardless of how they view
the policy, they will not be able to ignore the
grassroots support for the issue.
If
you have any questions, please contact Shawn Martin,
Director of Government Relations at smartin@osteopathic.org
or (202)
414-0140.
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Wednesday,
August 08, 2007
Subject:
Town Hall Meeting Alert - Sen. Wayne Allard
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Dear
GOAL Member:
Sen.
Wayne Allard has scheduled
Town Hall Meetings in your area and we urge you to attend
and raise the issue of Medicare physician payments.
The
AOA needs YOU to go to one of the Town Hall meetings listed
below and ask your legislator to support fair reimbursement
for physicians under the Medicare program. Town Hall
Meetings are an opportunity for Members of Congress to
interact with the constituents to discuss issues outside of Washington,
DC.
To
prepare for the Town Hall Meeting(s):
- Stand
and be heard! Get your
colleagues to join you. Take a few minutes and make an
investment in the future of the profession. Be
a part of the debate!
Don’t
miss these opportunities to ask your Members of Congress for
their positions, and tell them yours!
Official:
Sen. Wayne Allard
Topic: Town Hall Meeting
When: 08/17/2007
Starts: 07:30 AM
Where: Craig City Council Chambers, Moffat County Board of
County Commissioners, Craig,
CO
URL: http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2007/aug/02/us_sen_allard_be_craig_aug_17/
Please
Note: While some Town Hall
Meetings have scheduled topics, that does not preclude
additional topics from being discussed.
After
the meeting, please let us know you attended, and let us
know what was said. Complete an online debriefing form at http://www.capwiz.com/aoa-aoia/lrm/feedback.tt.
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March 30, 2007:
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| Colorado
DOs attend bill-signing ceremony on standardized health plan
contracts on March 30. From left to right, Jeffery Bacon, DO, CSOM
secretary/treasurer; Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D); Greg Smith, DO,
FACOFP, and ACOFP-Colorado president; AOA Trustee Joel B. Cooperman,
DO; and David Zarou, DO. |
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Colorado DOs Help
Pass Law Requiring Standard Health Plan Contracts
On
March 30, Colorado became the first state in the nation to gain
greater control over health care payments.
SB
79 was signed during Colorado’s "Medicine’s Day at the
Capitol." SB 79 requires health insurers to: use a standard
managed care contract when negotiating with physicians, dentists,
and other health care providers; disclose payment terms in plain
language; and notify providers of changes to the contract. The
legislation also prohibits insurers from requiring physicians to
accept patients with a different type of plan without the
physicians’ consent.
Over
the summer of 2006, the bill was re-negotiated and mediated, with
input from the Colorado Society of Osteopathic Medicine. Four DOs
attended newly-elected Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s (D)
bill-signing ceremony that enacted the landmark SB 79.
A
similar bill passed the legislature in 2006, but was vetoed by the
former governor. Related legislation has been introduced in Ohio and
Texas.
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