October 2011 October 6, 2011 SCMA News Briefs October 2011 0 TAKE ACTION! Urge Congress to repeal the Medicare SGR formula!TAKE ACTION! Urge Congress to repeal the Medicare SGR formula! On Jan. 1, physicians face a 30% Medicare payment cut because of the flawed SGR (sustainable growth rate) payment formula. Physicians need to contact Congress now to urge repeal of the SGR formula. Time is short. Congress has appointed a Deficit Committee to develop $1.5 trillion in spending cuts or revenue increases by Thanksgiving--and Medicare is one of their main targets. The Deficit Committee may be the last chance to repeal the SGR once and for all. Please write or call your representatives and senators today and urge them to repeal the SGR formula. In addition, ask them to co-sign a Dear Colleague letter from Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) to the Deficit Committee arguing for repeal of the SGR. Also ask them to stop further cuts in the Medi-Cal program. The sample letter attached below can be sent via email to the following members of Congress, using the “contact” buttons on their websites--or you can simply call them. You can also send the sample letter via regular mail to their district office, using the address listed on their website. · Rep. Lynn Woolsey: woolsey.house.gov or 707-542-7182 · Rep. Mike Thompson: mikethompson.house.gov or 707-226-9898 · Sen. Barbara Boxer: boxer.senate.gov or 510-286-8537 · Sen. Dianne Feinstein: feinstein.senate.gov or 415-393-0707 Sample letter urging repeal of SGR When contacting your representatives, stress the key points listed below: · Repeal the Medicare SGR in the Deficit Committee legislation. · Stop further Medi-Cal physician payment cuts. · Cosign the Medicare SGR Dear Colleague letter from Rep. Schwartz. Also ask your patients to contact Congress via the AMA Hotline at 888-434-6200. A Patient Poster is attached below, along with an Advocacy Kit with more details about repealing the SGR formula. Patient Poster and Advocacy Kit For further questions or comments, contact Elizabeth McNeil, CMA vice president for federal government relations, at emcneil@cmanet.org. Comments are closed.
