Have a Heart, Congress! Don't Cut Medicare Payments
In late 2007, thousands of people like you helped persuade Congress to put off their plan to slash payments to Medicare doctors for six months. Now that Congress is back in session, we need to make sure these cuts never happen at all! If this plan goes through, Medicare patients' access to care will be bleak. On July 1, a steep Medicare doctor payment cut is scheduled to go into effect. We need your voice more than ever to protect quality healthcare for those who need it most: families, the elderly and infants! Ask Congress to have a heart. Make sure Medicare cuts don't go through this year -- or ever.
Dear [Decision maker],
Did you know that an American Medical Association survey found that 60 percent of physicians said a projected 10 percent Medicare payment cut will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat?
Further, about 25 percent of Medicare patients seeking a new primary care physician already have problems finding one, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the group that advises Congress on Medicare. Couple that fact with a government-predicted shortage of 85,000 doctors by 2020 and the first wave of baby boomers turning 65 in three short years, and the future for Medicare patients' access to care is bleak, unless we take steps to turn the tide.
I know you're aware that a deep, 10 percent Medicare physician payment cut is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2008. Please, I implore you to make sure these cuts don't go through, for fear that more doctors discover they can no longer take care of those who need it most.
Our doctors are always there to take care of us - shouldn't we finally return the favor?
