Medicare payment reform talking points

• If the U.S. Congress does not act, Medicare payments to physicians will be cut by 10.6 percent in July 1, 2008.
• Unless Congress acts, payments will fall another 5 percent in 2009, and 40 percent during the coming decade.
• Cuts of this magnitude will create an access crisis for Medicare patients. Seniors know this and are concerned. In 2007, the MMA and the Minnesota Chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons worked together to stave off cuts.
• In 2005, 53 percent of Minnesota physicians who were surveyed said they would reduce their numbers of new Medicare patients, if the proposed cuts, which were about 5 percent at the time, occurred. Nearly four out of 10 said they’d be forced to reduce the total number of Medicare patients they see.
• Congress needs to replace Medicare’s flawed physician payment formula, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate, or SGR, with a formula that reflects increases in physician practice costs.