Letter to Senators Max Baucus
and Charles Grassley in Support of the "Beneficiary Access
to Care and Medicare Equity Act of 2002"
October 1, 2002
The Honorable Max Baucus
Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
SH-511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
On behalf of the Association of American Medical Colleges
(AAMC), I write to express support for the Beneficiary Access
to Care and Medicare Equity Act of 2002, sponsored by you
and Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). The legislation will
improve both the quality of, and access to, health care for
Medicare beneficiaries through enhanced Medicare and Medicaid
payments for teaching hospitals and academic physician services.
In particular, we are pleased your proposal maintains the
Medicare Indirect Medical Education (IME) adjustment at 6.5
percent for 2 years, preventing over $1.6 billion in IME cuts
to teaching hospitals in FYs 2003 and 2004. We do have concerns
about the IME reductions in FY 2005 and beyond and continue
to believe that the Medicare IME adjustment should be held
at 6.5 percent.
The AAMC appreciates the bill minimizing the reduction to
the market basket in FY 2003. Your initiative also prevents,
for three years, cuts to states' Medicaid Disproportionate
Share Hospital (DSH) allotments, allowing them to be increased
by inflation while improving allotments for "low DSH"
states. In addition, we support the increased funding for
the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) or "Medicaid
match."
Another key issue of importance to academic medicine addressed
in your legislation is providing positive and more stable
updates to physician payments. Given that your proposal provides
temporary relief to physicians for three years, we look forward
to continuing to work with you to ensure that a long-term
solution to the problematic formula is addressed.
With the new federal fiscal year upon us and FY 2003 cuts
to teaching hospitals commencing, the AAMC believes Senate
passage of your package must take place immediately. We are
eager to work with you to ensure that such legislation is
taken up and passed by the Senate, conferenced with the House,
and signed into law before Congress adjourns this year.
Our member teaching hospitals and the academic physicians
working in our medical schools and teaching hospitals appreciate
your leadership.
Sincerely,
Jordan J. Cohen, M.D.
|
