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The AMA and over one hundred medical associations sent a letter this week to the
president, vice president and congressional leaders urging reform of the
Medicare physician payment formula—the sustainable growth rate (SGR)—to be part
of any deficit reduction plan. Included in the letter were several key points
outlining the many problems with the SGR formula and the fact that the cost of
physician payment reform has grown over the years as Congress enacted frequent
short-term fixes; noting that as recently as 2005, the cost of permanent reform
would have been $48 billion, but today it is estimated to be nearly $300
billion. The SGR is set to cut Medicare physician payments by nearly 30 percent
on Jan. 1, 2012. The AMCNO has written to our Congressional representatives
repeatedly asking for changes to the SGR formula and we agree with the items
outlined in the AMA letter and we will continue to press for changes in the
payment formula. To view the letter go to:
http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/washington/sgr-sign-on-letter-27june2011.pdf
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