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Texas Sen. John Cornyn has filed legislation in Congress to change the way Medicare pays physicians. The bill, the Ensuring the Future Physician Workforce Act of 2008, would stop the 10-percent cut in Medicare payments set for July 1, replace the faulty Sustainable Growth Rate formula, and base future payment adjustments on the Medicare Economic Index.
"The physicians of Texas don't just applaud Senator Cornyn … we rise to give him a standing ovation," said TMA President William W. Hinchey, MD. "For years, we have been calling on Congress to enact a rational Medicare physician payment system that automatically keeps up with the cost of running a practice and is backed by a stable funding source. Senator Cornyn's bill will help make sure that America doesn't break its promise to our Medicare patients."
“Unfortunately, Congress' continued failure to address the growing gap between physician reimbursements and the actual costs for delivering care is threatening both doctors and patients," Senator Cornyn said when he filed the bill. "We need to start changing the way we reimburse physicians. We need a system that provides incentives for reduced costs and quality care, while protecting the eroded physician-patient relationship."
He added that there "are more than 30 health care reform plans floating around inside and outside of Congress. Yet, few of these proposals address the most fundamental question: What good is health care coverage without access to that coverage? If we are serious about reforming our health care system we need to ensure access to quality care and a future generation of American physicians who will administer that care."
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Action, March 17, 2008
Last Published: 3/18/2008 Print this page
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