Dear Speaker Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Reid, Chairman Camp, Chairman Upton and Chairman
Baucus:
As Congress considers legislation to address our nation’s economy, including the “fiscal cliff,” the
Alliance of Specialty Medicine (Alliance) respectfully requests that you include a permanent
replacement for the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula on your list of priority provisions that must
be acted on by the end of the year.
As you know, physicians treating Medicare beneficiaries face an insurmountable cut of 26.5% in their
reimbursements beginning in 2013, not to mention the multitude of other financial penalties related to
Medicare’s quality improvement initiatives and an additional 2% sequestration pay cut. As a result,
physicians are reconsidering their participation in the Medicare program, limiting the number of
Medicare patients they see, or leaving the practice of medicine altogether. Those who may remain in
practice, or in Medicare, will not be able to make critical investments in their practice’s infrastructure
to support new models of delivery that aim to improve quality and efficiency, including the adoption of
health information technology. Consequently, beneficiary access to high-quality healthcare will be
severely threatened, with longer waits and lengthy travel to see a physician, particularly specialists.
Physicians and seniors have waited long enough for Congress to address this significant flaw in our
nation’s largest health program. Each year since 2002, the SGR formula has called for a substantial
reduction in Medicare physician payment rates. In 2002, payment rates were reduced by 5.4 percent.
In each subsequent year, Congress has overridden the formula, specifying small increases or payment
freezes instead of large cuts. These short-term “fixes” have served only to exacerbate the problem and
continue to undermine physician and beneficiary confidence in the Medicare program.
With only a few short weeks left in this legislative session, we respectfully request that you take action
to repeal the flawed Medicare physician payment formula. The Alliance stands ready to support you in
taking this critical, fiscally responsible step that would lay the foundation for longer-term sustainability
and solvency in the Medicare program.
Read full letter here
