Doctors held hostage by Senate

drex · #1 07-11-2008, 03:20 AM

"Aguirre, Charlie
(Martinez)"
<charlie_aguirre@ To
martinez.senate.g "Rodriguez, Aileen (Martinez)"
ov> <[email protected]
ov>
07/09/2008 05:09 cc
PM
Subject
Senator Mel Martinez: Physician
Reimbursement rates within Medicare
Article

Dear friends,

Attached is an article that US Senator Mel Martinez would like to bring to
your attention in regards to physician reimbursement rates within Medicare.
Please feel free to forward this article out to your colleagues.

Thank you and please contact myself or Aileen Rodriguez, Gulf Coast
Regional Director, here in the Tampa Office of Senator Martinez if you need
further assistance.

Charlie Aguirre

Special Assistant
Office of U.S. Senator Mel Martinez
--------

Senator Coburn, one of two physicians in the Senate, has an op-ed on thedoc-fix today which Senator Martinez wanted to bring to your attention. Itis attached below and available at:http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art...g_doctors.htmlReal Clear PoliticsSenate Leaders Holding Doctors HostageBy Tom CoburnAs a practicing physician currently serving in the United States Senate, Ihave been disappointed not only by Congress' inability to prevent cuts tothe physician reimbursement rates within Medicare, but in our colleagues'inability to debate the real issues at hand honestly and constructively.While I appreciate the desire of Senate leaders to speak on behalf ofdoctors, I believe, as a doctor, that the American people deserve a betterunderstanding of what is at stake in this debate, and in the larger debateabout health care.In short, the Senate's recent debate about physician reimbursement rateshas been nothing more than a regularly-scheduled hostage crisis in whichdoctors facing payment cuts are held captive by politicians who want toachieve unrelated ideological goals. In this case, the ransom Senateleaders are demanding in exchange for a doctor fix are cuts in thesuccessful Medicare Advantage program that gives seniors greater choice andaccess to health care.The real debate, then, is not about reimbursement rates, but government-runhealth care vs. individually-controlled consumer driven health care. Ifthat is the debate Senate leaders wish to have, they should have thatdebate directly - not stage a diversionary hostage-crisis that harmsdoctors and patients.As a doctor, the hostility toward private plans among some of mylegislative colleagues is confounding because private plans have a provenrecord of better benefits and quality, superior clinical expertise forcoverage decisions, and increased access for vulnerable and minoritypopulations. Medicare Advantage offers seniors personal choice and controlover their health care decisions. More than one out of every five seniorsrely on their Medicare Advantage plans to provide an alternative togovernment-run Medicare. Yet, the Democrats' plan would inexplicably limitthe availability of these options for seniors. This misguided position isnot based on any empirical data, but pure ideology and hostility toindividual freedom and choice in health care.The irony of this debate is that the so-called "crisis" in sustainableMedicare reimbursement rates is caused by policies that lead tounsustainable increases in costs. Medicare was designed so physicianreimbursement rates would keep pace with costs. Yet, this broken paymentsystem predictably leaves doctors facing a larger cut every successive year- hence the annual crisis that requires difficult maintenance. Instead offixing this problem once and for all, Senate leaders, and presumptiveDemocratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, want to not only enshrinethis dysfunctional model in Medicare but apply it to the entire health caresystem.As a doctor, I know first-hand that the result of such a scheme would benot merely an annual crisis, but a permanent crisis in which even more ofmy medical colleagues would leave the profession rather than contend withever-shrinking reimbursement rates and intractable bureaucrats inWashington. Senate leaders seem oblivious to the fact that this is animmediate - not far off - problem. Physicians across the country areincreasingly refusing to treat Medicare (and Medicaid) patients becauseWashington's manipulation of the health care market is failing. ExpandingWashington's lordship over health care would only reduce the number ofdoctors in the system as the number of seniors seeking to access Medicareswells.Regardless of the outcome of the doc fix bill, this debate is a reminder ofwhy physicians must get engaged in health care reform. Once we pass this18-month patch, we will have to come back and figure out how to prevent a21 percent cut in 2010. Doctors should make no mistake that the underlyingproblem is that bureaucrats and politicians in Washington are telling themhow much they can charge to see their patients. If our health care systemturns single-payer - as it eventually would under an Obama Administration -we won't be fighting cuts to care for our over 65 patients, but cuts overreimbursements for all of our patients.After a compromise is passed and the phony theatrics end, Congress shouldimmediately begin working on comprehensive reform. We can solve today'shealth care crisis by turning to a single-payer system - where care will berationed and physicians will have to fight for perpetual reimbursement ratefixes for all of the patients they see - or we can solve that crisis withsolutions that rely on American ingenuity and individual choice. Myexperience as a physician and legislator has taught me that the latter isthe only long-term solution that will work.In any event, our goal must be results for seniors and patients - notelection-year posturing. Physicians want to care for their patients andreceive a fair wage. Beneficiaries want the security of knowing medicalcare will always be available to them. We can achieve both if Senators areinterested in a solution, not just an election-year issue.