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ASRM BULLETIN
Volume 10, Number 10
June 12, 2008
Action Alert
Call Your Senators Now To Stop Medicare Physician Payment Cuts
Ask Them To Vote “Yes”
On The Cloture Motion To Consider S.3101
Late Tuesday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a cloture motion to begin floor consideration of S. 3101, the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act.” This bill, introduced by Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT), would halt the Medicare physician payment cuts scheduled to take place on July 1, 2008, and January 1, 2009, by extending the current 0.5 percent update through the rest of this year and by providing an additional 1.1 percent update for calendar year 2009. AMA and many physician specialty organizations believe this 18-month reprieve will provide time to work with Congress on developing a rational, long-term reform of the dysfunctional Medicare physician payment system.
The Senate floor vote on the motion to begin consideration will be held Thursday, June 12. Indications from Senate leadership are that this vote cannot be postponed if we are to avoid a payment cut on July 1.
We need ALL members to contact their Senators NOW!
The message points are very simple:
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Unless Congress acts, Medicare physician payments will be slashed by 10.6% on July 1.
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A cut of this magnitude will force physicians--many of whom are in small practices—to make difficult business decisions that will restrict patient access to care.
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S. 3101 addresses this problem, and provides time for Congress to work with physicians to develop a long-term solution to this annual problem.
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Vote YES on the cloture motion to begin consideration of S. 3101.
The Capitol Switchboard - (202) 224-3121 - will provide you with the phone numbers for your Senators.
The ASRM Bulletin is published by ASRM's Office of Public Affairs to inform Society members of important recent developments. Republication or any other use of the contents of the Bulletin without permission is prohibited. To request permission to quote or excerpt material from the Bulletin, contact Sean Tipton at
stipton@asrm-dc.org.
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