AARP and five other professional organizations sent a letter to leaders in Congress last week, pressing them to avert the impending Medicare cut to physicians and replace the sustainable growth rate altogether.
In the letter, AARP — along with the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, the Center for Medicare Advocacy and the Medicare Rights Center — said the SGR is "long overdue for reform" and should repeal the SGR completely. If Congress is unable to take action against the SGR, which is the formula that calculates Medicare physician payments, physicians will endure a 26.5 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement, effective at the beginning of the new year.
A temporary fix or full repeal of the SGR will cost billions of dollars, and the groups said the fix should be funded with money that would've gone toward the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The annual legislative struggle to avert Medicare physician payment cuts has gone on far too long," the letter read. "It is crucial to ensure that people in Medicare can maintain relationships with the doctors and providers who treat them. Our organizations are ready to work with you to help all members of Congress to address this issue, which is vitally important to the older adults and people with disabilities across the nation."
In the letter, AARP — along with the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, the Center for Medicare Advocacy and the Medicare Rights Center — said the SGR is "long overdue for reform" and should repeal the SGR completely. If Congress is unable to take action against the SGR, which is the formula that calculates Medicare physician payments, physicians will endure a 26.5 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement, effective at the beginning of the new year.
A temporary fix or full repeal of the SGR will cost billions of dollars, and the groups said the fix should be funded with money that would've gone toward the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The annual legislative struggle to avert Medicare physician payment cuts has gone on far too long," the letter read. "It is crucial to ensure that people in Medicare can maintain relationships with the doctors and providers who treat them. Our organizations are ready to work with you to help all members of Congress to address this issue, which is vitally important to the older adults and people with disabilities across the nation."
More Articles on the Sustainable Growth Rate:
CMS to Cut Physicians' Medicare Payments 26.5% in 2013 Unless SGR Bypassed
Medicare Stalemate: 4 Ways This Year's SGR Payment Cut Would Hurt Healthcare
SGR Update: How Much is the Repeal Cost for 2012?