Medicare Payment Fix Fails to Pass Senate

The ACP Advocate

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October 23, 2009
In this issue
» Repeal of Medicare SGR Fails in Senate

» Up Next: Senate Floor Debate on Health-Care Reform

» Subspecialists, Too, Play a Role in Patient-Centered Medical Home




About this newsletter

The ACP Advocate is an e-newsletter, edited by the College's Washington, DC governmental affairs division, created to provide you, our members, with succinct news about public policy issues affecting internal medicine and patient care. To learn more about ACP's Advocacy and to access the ACP Advocate archives, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy.

Welcome to The ACP Advocate.

It was a disappointing week here in Washington. ACP and other physician organizations were told at a meeting with Senate leadership last week that they would be attempting to pass a long-term fix for the Medicare payment cuts caused by the sustainable growth rate formula. The legislation was brought up for a vote on Wednesday and did not pass. Read the first story to find out more about what went wrong.

In this issue we also update you about the other goings-on in the health care reform effort. And, in our third article, we introduce you to the concept of a Patient-Centered Medical Home neighbor.

For more coverage of health care reform and what’s happening in Washington, take a look at my blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty. I encourage you to post your own comments and become part of the discussion taking place among members like you.

And, as always, please send your feedback and suggestions on this newsletter to: TheACPAdvocate@acponline.org.

Yours truly,

Bob Doherty
Senior Vice President
Governmental Affairs and Public Policy
American College of Physicians


In the news
» Repeal of Medicare SGR Fails in Senate
  Doctors rally behind the proposed fix, but fiscal worries derail proposal
 

Long-awaited relief from Medicare's physician payment formula has gotten sidetracked in Congress.

A move Wednesday afternoon to stop debate and take action on the proposal fell 13 votes shy of the 60 needed to make that happen.

The... » Click to read the full article


» Up Next: Senate Floor Debate on Health-Care Reform
  High-level talks focus on reconciling proposals, garnering bipartisan support
 

Legislators on Capitol Hill have taken major steps toward moving health-care reform closer to reality in recent weeks, but the final shape of legislation remains in flux.

"It's a little hard to predict what the final package will look like in t... » Click to read the full article


» Subspecialists, Too, Play a Role in Patient-Centered Medical Home
  Success of model depends on more than primary care doctors
 

In efforts to reform the nation's health-care system, one of the key components is the patient-centered medical home, a team approach to patient care that would improve quality, cost efficiency and patient satisfaction.

Much of the discussion h... » Click to read the full article


In focus
ACP President Calls on Congress to Continue Work to Fix Medicare Payments
Shortly after the Senate failed to pass the Medicare payment fix on Wednesday ACP’s President Joseph W. Stubbs, MD, FACP, issued a statement criticizing the Senate for allowing the legislation to fail and urging Congress to continue working to find a permanent solution to the payment cuts.


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