AAMC Coordinates Dean's Letter
Urging Support of Physician Payment Relief
September 13, 2002 -The AAMC is coordinating a letter
from medical school deans urging Senate passage of Medicare
physician payment relief before Congress adjourns. The letter
will be sent to all members of the Senate during the week
of Sept. 16 with the intent of coinciding with the Committee's
preparations to take up Medicare provider legislation in the
next few weeks.
The letter calls attention to a recent projection by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that indicates
a second consecutive reduction to the Conversion Factor used
to calculate physician payments (negative 4.4 percent in CY
2003). It also expresses concern that the inadequacy and volatility
of physician payment updates impedes the fiscal management
of medical schools and their core missions of patient care,
education, and research.
The letter points out that despite the Senate's strong bipartisan
support for legislation that would halt the scheduled payment
reductions and call for a more equitable alternative to the
current payment methodology ("Medicare Physician Payment
Fairness Act," S.
1707), no Senate action has been taken. It encourages
Senators to improve upon the physician provisions recently
passed by the House as part of its "Medicare Modernization
and Prescription Drug Act of 2002" (H.R.
4954). The House legislation sets the CY 2003 Conversion
Factor update at 2 percent and alters the update methodology
for CYs 2004 and 2005 to subsequently produce an estimated
2 percent update in each of those years. However, H.R. 4954
does not address the 5.4 percent reduction in CY 2002, nor
does it call for a long-term solution to the flawed payment
formula - two proposals strongly endorsed by the AAMC.
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Senior Legislative Affairs Manager
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
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