Once again the U.S. Senate has failed to permanently fix the Medicare physician payment formula that will cause a drastic 23 percent payment cut to doctors who care for Medicare and TRICARE patients. The 23 percent cut was delayed three times already this year, leaving access to health care for seniors, disabled and military families hanging in the balance.
The time to act is now. This vicious cycle of short-term delays that increase the size of the cut and the cost of reform for American taxpayers must come to an end. Make your voice heard.
Tell Congress to stop the Medicare payment cuts.
I am a patient who is concerned about the constant cycle of mandated Medicare physician payment cuts.
Every year, doctors are threatened with cuts to their Medicare payments for treating those most in need. I fear that these cuts to Medicare have the potential to prevent many doctors from investing in health information technology and other improvements to their practice. These cuts impact future patients, as many doctors are now thinking of not taking on new Medicare patients, or perhaps even quitting their practice altogether.
[your comments]
The constant cycle of cuts and temporary patches makes me very worried that I won't be able to find a physician when I need one.
Cutting these Medicare payments will restrict patients' access to health care, which makes absolutely no sense as millions of baby boomers are about to retire and enter into the Medicare system. It is time--right now--to permanently fix the Medicare physician access problem.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
