TMA Weighs in on Weighty Issues

Keywords: Billing_and_Collections  Licensure  Medicare  Patient_Safety  Quality_of_Care  Scope_of_Practice  

TMA has joined the American Medical Association and other medical societies across the nation in expressing their views on new policies that would have a serious impact on physician practices.

TMA and the others have written letters that:

  • Urge the National Board of Medical Examiners to clearly outline its position [PDF] on the differences between the physician and the doctor of nurse practice certification examinations. Medicine believes the board should make it clear that the doctors of nurse practice certification exams are not as rigorous as those for physicians. 
  • Express ongoing concern [PDF] over Medicare's Recovery Audit Contractor program. The letter says Medicare's plan to hire contractors to recover improperly paid Medicare claims from physicians should be replaced with a physician education program because that is the best way to resolve the problem. It also says the contractors should not be allowed to perform evaluation and management audits or review consultations.
  • Ask U.S. House Committee on Budget Chair John Spratt (D-S.C.) to support rebasing of Medicare physician payments [PDF]. The letter says a revised baseline for Medicare payments to physicians set by the Obama administration in its proposed budget is more realistic than the current baseline and "would facilitate the passage of legislation to permanently reform the Medicare physician payment system to preserve the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care for our nation's senior and disabled patients."


Action, April 1, 2009

Last Published: 4/1/2009

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