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Support Medicare Payment Reform
Tell your Legislators to Fix the Broken Medicare Reimbursement System
On March 2, the Senate voted 78-19 to pass H.R. 4691, the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010," which included provisions to extend 2009 Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the month. As a result, the 21% Medicare payment cut that took effect on March 1 has been postponed until April 1. Both Hawaii Senators voted in favor of the measure.
The bill had passed the House on February 25 and then encountered opposition on the Senate floor by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY), who objected to the legislation being considered as an emergency measure that would not require budgetary offsets. In addition to postponing Medicare physician payment cuts, the bill extended a variety of other expiring programs including unemployment insurance and premium subsidies for COBRA continuation coverage for those whose employment was involuntarily terminated.
Discussions are still underway in the House and Senate on the next steps that will be taken to address the Medicare payment crisis. Proposals are being circulated that would implement another short-term patch to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which has been the cause of steep payment cuts. Past short-term patches have only made the problem worse. Congress needs to solve the problem permanently, to preserve access to care and provide physician practices with the financial stability they need to care for our seniors and military families. Contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives today and ask them to fix this broken system.
Call (800) 833-6354, the AMA Grassroots Hotline, to be directly connected with your legislators.
Tell your legislators:
•Congress must fulfill its obligations to Medicare patients and military families covered by TRICARE.
•Short-term patches that only make future cuts deeper and the cost of a permanent solution more expensive are not the answer.
•The fiscally responsible solution is permanent repeal of the SGR formula.
Send an e-mail directly to your representative through the AMA Grassroots Action Center at www.ama-assn.org/go/grassroots.
Letter to US Senate from AMA President
Letter to HMA Members from Congressman Abercrombie on SGR fix
Medicare Payment Materials:
Flyer for physicians
Medicare Payment Action Kit
Flyer for patients
National Health System Reform Information
Read HMA's latest letter to Hawaii's U.S. Congressional Delegates
Hawaii Medical Association continues to review health system reform provisions as they relate to Hawaii's unique situation. The American Medical Association is calling for meaningful health system reform that follows these key concepts:
- Health insurance coverage for all Americans
- Insurance market reforms that expand choice of affordable coverage and eliminate denials for pre-existing conditions or due to arbitrary caps
- Assurance that health care decisions will remain in the hands of patients and their physicians, not insurance companies or government officials
- Investments and incentives for quality improvement and prevention and wellness initiatives
- Repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula that triggers steep cuts and threaten seniors’ access to care
- Implementation of medical liability reforms to reduce the cost of defensive medicine
- Streamline and standardize insurance claims processing requirements to eliminate unnecessary costs and administrative burdens
AMA to President Obama & summit attendees: Medical liability reform essential to curbing health costs
AMA tells President & Congress: Focus on key health reform provisions
The AMA has developed a one-page chart that explains how the House and Senate health reform bills address provisions in Resolution 203, which the AMA House of Delegates passed in November during its Interim Meeting.
In addition, a legislative summary chart by the AMA compares in detail the amended Senate health reform bill to the original Senate bill and the House bill and explains how they relate to AMA policy.
Read HMA's letter to Hawaii's Congressional Delegation (Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Congresswoman Mazie Hirono)
HMA President on PBS Hawaii: If you missed HMA's President, Dr. Gary Okamoto, discussing health system reform on the PBS Hawaii program "Insights", or wish to see it again, visit www.kmeb.org/insights02.htm to watch online.
HMA President Communicates to White House: View Dr. Gary Okamoto's comments to President Obama’s Office of Health Reform, discussing health system reform as part of Congressman Neil Abercrombie's Healthcare Advisory Task Force www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd3QD12qn7E&feature=PlayList&p=39CD75BC7EF43D45&index=0
Learn more about the AMA's key policies on HSR, review frequently asked questions, and sign up for news alerts
HMA Legislative Alert 2/1/10
HMA Legislative Alert 1/27/10
HMA Legislative Alert 1/25/10
Membership dues allow the Hawaii Medical Association to represent Hawaii physicians and to play a crucial role at the state legislature shaping the future of our health care system. HMA’s objectives are to help physicians put patient care first, and to assure high quality health care for all the people in Hawaii. To accomplish these goals, HMA supports legislative initiatives such as:
• Fair business practices in managed care and health insurance;
• Monitoring various patient safety and public health issues;
• Medical liability tort reforms; and
• Appropriate scope for various types of health care providers based on medical qualifications.
HMA’s legislative committee meets throughout each legislative session to follow important legislation. HMA members who are interested in joining the committee, or leaning more about ways to participate, can contact April Donahue, 536-7702 x110. If you are not an HMA member and wish to join, visit our “Join HMA” web page or contact April at HMA for more details.
Hawaii's residents and tourists are facing a shortage of physicians across the state, which puts everyone's health at risk. Physicians are leaving Hawaii, retiring early, or no longer providing high-risk, but life-saving treatments due in large part to the risk of being sued and high medical malpractice insurance premiums, low reimbursements from public and private health insurers, and the high cost of living.
States such as Texas, California, Alaska, Idaho and others have enacted common-sense "Medical Liability Reform" or "tort reform". Reforms include establishing reasonable limits on arbitrary, non-economic damages in medical malpractice suits (injured parties would still receive all economic damages such as present and future cost of care, lost wages, etc); caps on attorneys' fees to give a greater share of settlement money to injured patients; and ensuring that a defendant is liable for only his/her portion of fault.
This type of medical liability reform has been shown to lower the incidence of defensive medicine - ordering tests that are unnecessary for fear of being sued, reduce malpractice insurance premiums, and make those states more attractive to physicians. It is one of the critical solutions that will help Hawaii retain and recruit a physician workforce. It costs taxpayers nothing, while saving government dollars and reducing health care costs overall.
Are you a patient who has experienced the access to health care shortage in Hawaii? Contact Save Our Doctors - a Hawaii consumer group who aims to end Hawaii's physician shortage.
For additional references, please visit:
Find Your Legislators
Contact Your Representative
Contact Your Senator
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