The President's Proposal for Primary Care Funding

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March 21, 2014
In this issue
» President Seeks Billions to Improve Access to Primary Care
» ACP's To-Do List: Urge Congress to Act on SGR, and Help Patients Get Insurance
» Data on Doctors' Medicare Payments Will Soon Become Public


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

We start today’s issue by letting you know all about the President’s new budget proposal.  I’m happy to report that the proposal includes significant support for primary care medicine, including funding for training, for the National Health Service Corps, and to extend the Medicaid primary care pay parity.  This is still a proposal at this point, so we have yet to see what might be translated into actual dollars.  However, it’s promising to see the administration acknowledge the importance of these programs.  Check out the article for more about what sort of funding the budget includes for these and other health care programs.

In case you missed it, our second story today brings you notice of communications that ACP’s President, Dr. Molly Cooke, sent to all of you.  The emails to membership cover both the status of the Medicare payment fix legislation on Capitol Hill and the latest in ACP’s resources to help you with the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.  Read the article for more details about what you need to know.

Finally, today’s last story lets you know about a new CMS policy that allows the government to release data on Medicare payments to individual physicians in response to requests.  The policy change went into effect this past Tuesday.  Take a look at the article for more about what we feel are the protections that CMS needs to consider in light of this change.

Until our next issue, for more coverage of what's happening in Washington take a look at my award-winning blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty.  You can also follow me on Twitter @BobDohertyACP.

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
» President Seeks Billions to Improve Access to Primary Care
  ACP urges Congress to keep partisan politics out of funding decisions for health care initiatives
 

Health care reform appears to remain a major focus of the Obama administration, with its 2015 budget proposal recommending billions of dollars in spending to improve patients' access to primary care physici... » Click to read the full article


» ACP's To-Do List: Urge Congress to Act on SGR, and Help Patients Get Insurance
  March deadlines prompt campaign to encourage member action on two issues
 

With two key health care deadlines looming, the American College of Physicians has issued a call to action to all its members.

ACP wants members of Congress to hear from their physician constituen... » Click to read the full article


» Data on Doctors' Medicare Payments Will Soon Become Public
  ACP hopes to work with government to ensure privacy and accuracy
 

This month, the federal government will begin honoring public records requests for data on Medicare payments to individual physicians, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

... » Click to read the full article


In focus
Seeking Participation in an Exciting New Streamlined MGMA 2014 Cost Survey
ACP and Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) are working together to provide physicians an opportunity to participate in an exciting new streamlined MGMA 2014 Cost Survey. Your participation in this influential survey will make a difference to your ACP peers and the industry. Historically, internal medicine and small practices have been under-represented, and your participation can help to ensure that reliable benchmarks can be provided. The survey deadline is April 18. Please see for more information.

Become an Advocate for Internal Medicine
Join ACP’s Advocates for Internal Medicine Network (AIMn). You’ll find updates about the latest legislation affecting internists and be able to help contribute to ACP’s continued success on Capitol Hill. In addition, the program will provide you with legislative alerts designed to help you easily email or call your members of Congress to let them hear about the issues important to you and other internal medicine physicians.


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