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LEGISLATIVE ALERT #10-10 May 17, 2010


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The Issue: Reverse the 21% Reduction in Medicare/TRICARE Physician Payment Rates set to occur June 1, 2010



Immediate Action Required: Contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to take immediate legislative action to reverse the planned 21% reduction in Medicare/TRICARE physician payment rates now scheduled to occur June 1, 2010



The temporary Medicare rate reduction fix enacted by Congress last month expires June 1, 2010. This was the second temporary fix this year. Once again we need to act quickly and decisively. Passage of health care legislation on March 23, 2010 left this critical business unattended.



Payment rates in the TRICARE program for our members of the military are tied directly to Medicare rates. To control growth in Medicare payments to physicians, a complicated programmed formula, designed to keep Medicare payments to physicians in line with a targeted Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is now scheduled to reduce Medicare/TRICARE physician payment rates by 21% on June 1, 2010. Congress must take immediate legislative action to reverse this scheduled reduction.



According to an AARP poll, nearly 90% of people age 50 and older are concerned that the Medicare physician payment cuts will threaten their access to care. Congress must provide more than a short-term fix to this troubling process.



Contact your Senators and Representative again and ask them to take immediate action to permanently reverse the planned 21% cut in Medicare/TRICARE payments now scheduled to occur June 1, 2010.





TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:

By using the "Write to Congress" feature on the NGAUS Web site at www.ngaus.org/writetocongress, you can IMMEDIATELY e-mail your elected representatives. A sample letter is included in our "Write to Congress" feature. You can e-mail the pre-written message or edit the sample letter as you desire. This is the quickest and most effective method of expressing your views to Congress. Also, contact your friends and family and urge them to "Write to Congress" as well. For more in-depth information and background visit our web site at www.ngaus.org. Please direct any questions concerning this issue to Pete Duffy, NGAUS Deputy Legislative Director at 202-454-5307 or via email at pete.duffy@ngaus.org.