The American Medical Association announced Thursday it will launch a multi-million-dollar national advertising campaign to push Congress to prevent a 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut mandated to start June 1.
AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, said the pay cut would cause physicians to drop out of Medicare, making access problems worse for seniors. An AMA physician survey, he said, indicates many are already limiting the number of Medicare patients they treat.
According to Rohack, the AMA's online survey of 9,000 Medicare physicians confirms that seniors are already being hurt by "Congress' mismanagement of the Medicare program."
The study found that 17 percent of physicians said they have already been forced to limit the number of Medicare patients in their practice, while 31 percent of primary care physicians have already been forced to take that action.
The top two reasons physicians gave for these actions were the ongoing threat of future cuts and Medicare payment rates that are already too low, according to the survey.
Rohack said the 21-percent cut also hurts the nation's military families, as TRICARE rates are tied to Medicare.
"It is sad and ironic that senators raced home to celebrate Memorial Day without first voting to preserve healthcare for active duty military families," he said. "Make no mistake: Physicians want to care for seniors and military families, but the chronic instability caused by the threat of future payment cuts has already taken its toll – and a 21 percent cut will make matters much worse."
Congress on April 15 postponed the 21-percent pay cut in Medicare physician reimbursement until June 1, the third time lawmakers have delayed the cut this year. Each time they have vowed to tackle a more permanent fix, only to get mired in the legislative process.
Joseph Stubbs, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, said the lack of a permanent solution is creating "total chaos" for physicians.
Rohack said each delay in fixing the Medicare physician payment cut makes the problem worse and the price tag higher for the American taxpayer.
"Enough is enough," he said. "The Senate needs to fix the Medicare physician payment system for America's seniors once and for all."