Kratovil Votes To Protect Seniors’ Access To Their Doctors

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Frank Kratovil voted to preserve seniors’ access to their doctors by fixing the way Medicare pays physicians. Kratovil joined a bipartisan majority of his colleagues in passing H.R. 3961, The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act. This bill prevents a 21% cut in Medicare physician payment rates scheduled for January 2010. Instead of temporarily overriding the cut, H.R. 3961 replaces what is known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula with a permanent, sustainable solution.

“Seniors should not have to worry about keeping the doctors they like or having reliable access to the primary care they need because of a flaw in the Medicare system,” said Rep. Kratovil. “This bill fixes the unreliable reimbursement system that would otherwise cut doctor pay and prevent them from caring for Medicare recipients.

HR 3961 is supported by a wide range of organizations representing patients, doctors and other providers, including the American Medical Association, AARP, the Military Officers Association of America, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, the Medicare Rights Center, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

“We need to recruit and retain qualified physicians to practice here in Maryland so that everyone has access to the quality care that they need. If this fix isn’t made, then our failure would be felt particularly hard in rural areas like the Eastern Shore where reimbursement rates are already disproportionately low. This bill will ensure Doctors are paid what they deserve for providing quality health care for Maryland’s seniors,” said Kratovil.

Rep. Kratovil was pleased that the House of Representatives expressed a commitment to reduce the deficit with this bill by attaching statutory “pay-as-you-go,” or PAYGO, legislation before sending it to the Senate. Rep. Kratovil is a strong supporter of fiscally responsible PAYGO legislation, which played a key role in producing the budget surpluses of the 1990’s before the legislation expired in 2002.

Permanent physician payment reform

§ Preserves seniors’ access to their doctors with a guaranteed update in 2010. Replaces the pending 21 percent fee cut with an update for 2010 based on the Medicare economic index while a new payment system is being put in place.

§ Fairer growth targets to keep doctors’ pay steady. Wipes away accumulated deficits from current spending targets to provide for a fresh start, but still holds physicians accountable for spending growth. Excludes items not paid under the Medicare physician fee schedule such as chemotherapy drugs and laboratory services from revised growth targets.

§ Promotes primary care that can keep you healthier longer. Provides an extra growth allowance for primary care services to promote access to primary care practitioners in Medicare and throughout the health care system.

§ Encourages integrated care so your doctors communicate on your care. Encourages the formation of Accountable Care Organizations which incentivize physicians to take responsibility for improving quality and reducing costs. Accountable Care Organizations may “opt out” of the national spending targets and establish their own organization-specific targets.