AMA Working with Congress for Medicare Payment Resolution
The American Medical Association (AMA) sent doctors from 23 states for Capitol Hill visits to lobby with Congress in the hopes of changing the Medicare payment formula. This came four days after they launched a two-week ad campaign on the subject. The payment formula that the AMA is lobbying against “would result in a nearly 30 percent cut in January for physicians if Congress does not block it," according to CQ. The method that Congress usually employs to avoid cuts often results in a temporary solution that ultimately worsen the long-term costs, which the AMA is hoping to avoid. Instead they are meeting with lawmakers to urge a more permanent solution to the problem that would be a part of any deficit reduction deal that might come from the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) also launched a campaign with a similar focus, inciting the Super Committee “to repeal the Medicare sustainable growth rate, which effectively mandates that Congress annually slash doctors' Medicare reimbursement rates -- a requirement lawmakers regularly vote to avoid,” reported the National Journal. The focus in their long-running campaign is to paint a picture of the SGR as a “$300 billion drag on the economy” with the ultimate goal of repeal.
