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 Updated On
August 29, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010