MEDICARE SGR FIX -- THIS IS OUR TIME.

CALL IMMEDIATELY

Congressman Jared Polis: 303-484-9596, 202-225-2161;
https://polisforms.house.gov/Forms/WriteYourRep/default.aspx
SENATOR MICHAEL BENNET: 303-455-7600, 202-224-5852
SENATOR MARK UDALL: 303-650-7820, 202-224-5941

MEDICARE SGR FIX” -- THIS IS OUR TIME.
Alfred Gilchrist, CMS CEO

The Situation: American medicine is fully engaged in a war to fix the Medicare payment formula, the SGR. The battles are being waged in the air through a multi-million dollar ad campaign compliments of AMA and ground attacks led by state and county medical societies. CMS and Boulder County Medical Society are on the front lines of THE battle. Your help is urgently needed, right now!

Background: Many pundits believe that we will never have a better chance to fix the SGR than we do at this time. The reason? As part of the bipartisan deficit reduction agreement passed into law over the summer, a new Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was created.  This committee is tasked with making recommendations by late November to further reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion. Select Committee recommendations are not limited to spending cuts but may also include entitlement reforms, such as the SGR, and tax increases or loophole closures.

The Congress is required to act on the recommendations, without amendment, by December 23, 2011. If the committee achieves savings between $1.2 and $1.5 trillion, the debt ceiling will be raised again by the corresponding amount.  If the committee fails to report savings or if the Congress fails to enact them, the debt ceiling will be automatically raised by $1.2 trillion and sequestration (across the board cuts) will be triggered in an amount necessary to achieve $1.2 trillion in savings, or in the amount that an enacted committee bill fell short of $1.2 trillion. One-half of savings will come from defense spending with the remaining coming from non-defense spending, both discretionary and mandatory, for Fiscal Years 2013-2021. Medicare will not be exempt from sequestration, although benefits and beneficiary cost sharing will remain unchanged.  Providers will bear all the cuts and Medicare savings which are limited to 2% of total program costs.

WHAT TO DO IMMEDIATELY:

CALL CONGRESSMAN POLIS AND OUR TWO US SENATORS NOW!!

ASK CONGRESSMAN JARED POLIS TO “SIGN-ON” TO THE ‘ALYSON SCHWARTZ LETTER’ TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE ASKING THIS COMMITTEE TO INCLUDE IN THEIR REPORT A FULL REPEAL OF THE SGR, TO STABALIZE PAYMENT RATES TO ENSURE BENEFICIARY ACCESS IN THE NEAR-TERM, AND TO SET OUT A CLEAR PATH TOWARD COMPREHENSIVE PAYMENT REFORM OVER THE LONG-TERM.

1. CONTACT SENATORS MICHAEL BENNET AND MARK UDALL AND URGE THEM TO CONTACT THEIR COLLEAGUE, SENATOR PATTY MURRAY (D-WASHINGTON STATE), THE CO-CHAIR OF SELECT COMMITTEE TO ADD THE SGR FIX TO THE FINAL REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE.

2. URGE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO DO THE SAME.

THE MESSAGE:

• In your own words, emphasize the consequences of a near 30% cut in Medicare to your practice and to your patients.
• Remind them that this is the 9th year that Congress has “kicked the can down the road” and that you and your patients are literally running out of time.

STATUS: Reps. Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter are the only Colorado House members who have signed the letter, along with over 110 additional members of the US House of both parties. We want Congressman Polis to join the fight by adding his name to the letter.