Save America's Medicare!! Call Congress to Support S. 2785

Clock ticking on Medicare payment S. 2785

Call the AMA Grassroots Hotline at (800) 833-6354 to be connected to your members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor and pass S. 2785.

Download the AMA's Medicare Physician Payment Action Kit, which includes details about the bill and how you can voice your support for it:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/14332.html

Medicare physician payment rates are scheduled to be cut
10.6 percent on July 1, 2008, and an additional 5 percent or
more on Jan. 1, 2009. As of April 1, there are only 91 days
remaining for Congress to address this problem before the
cut goes into effect.
• Medicare physician payment rates today are about
the same as in 2001. Rapidly eroding margins are
threatening the viability of medical practices, putting
health information technology purchases out of reach
and leading the large cohort of practicing physicians
over 55 years of age to weigh retirement.
• Numerous surveys project a crisis in patient access if
Medicare payments fall further behind practice cost
increases:
• In an AMA survey of almost 9,000 physicians,
60 percent said they would have to limit the number
of new Medicare patients they treat if this year's pay
cut is not stopped.
• More than half the surveyed physicians said they
could not meet their current payroll with a 10 percent
Medicare pay cut and would be forced to reduce their staff.

• The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reports
that 30 percent of Medicare patients looking for a
new primary care physician already have trouble
finding one.
• The Medical Group Management Association finds
that 24 percent of group practices already limit their
acceptance of new Medicare patients.
• The Council on Graduate Medical Education is
predicting the country will face a shortage of 85,000
physicians by 2020.
• An Association of American Medical Colleges
workforce study found that 51 percent of physicians
over the age of 50 cite "insufficient reimbursement"
as a "very important" factor in retirement decisions.
Congress has promised America's current and future
seniors access to medical care. Lawmakers must fulfill their
promises by acting soon to enact legislation.

Ask your senators to cosponsor S. 2785, the "Save Medicare Act of 2008."
Ask your representative to help enact legislation that:
• Stops the pay cuts for 18 months
• Extends the positive 2008 update through the rest of the year and provides a positive 2009 update that covers increases in medical practice costs
• Does not increase the size or duration of Medicare physician pay cuts

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