Friday, March 30, 2012
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Friday, March 23, 2012
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
HR 5 (Gingrey R-GA) Tort Reform and Repeal of IPAB - Message from Medical Association of Georgia
Dear all:
MAG will be sending an alert out today on HR 5 – Congressman Phil Gingrey’s bill that calls for tort reform ($250,000 cap on noneconomic damages) and a repeal of IPAB. It is important for you to contact your Congressman and ask for their support of HR 5. I have personally contacted each Congressman’s office about MAG’s support of this bill. It is necessary they also hear from you.
Below are some important points to make:
Independent Payment Advisory Board
The IPAB, which was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is an independent board of 15 unelected and largely unaccountable government bureaucrats whose primary purpose is to cut Medicare spending. The IPAB threatens the ability of the people's elected representatives in Congress to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to the health care they need, when they need it. The many problems with IPAB include the following:
IPAB members are appointed solely by the President, fewer than half can be health care providers, and none are permitted to be practicing physicians or be otherwise employed. Even worse, if IPAB fails to report recommendations or never becomes operational, the power to make significant Medicare policy decisions will rest solely in the hands of a single individual - the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Providers representing roughly 37 percent of all Medicare payments, including hospitals and hospice care, are exempt from IPAB cuts until 2020; thus IPAB directed cuts will disproportionately fall on all other providers, including surgeons.
Without a permanent solution to the Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, physicians are essentially subject to "double jeopardy" with cuts from both the SGR and IPAB.
IPAB severely limits congressional authority and eliminates the transparency of hearings, debate and the meaningful opportunity of stakeholder input.
Medical Liability Reform
With regard to medical liability, as you are aware, our current system does not serve patients or providers. Medical lawsuit abuse is forcing good doctors out of the practice of medicine. Meritless lawsuits are deteriorating the doctor-patient relationship and causing physicians to practice defensive medicine. This drives up health care costs for everyone.
The medical liability section of H.R. 5 is based on time-tested reforms that have been in place in several states, including California and Texas, for many years. These reforms have been shown to lower costs and preserve access to care for patients. Further, these reforms will help reduce our national debt at a time when we all agree that federal savings are sorely needed.
Thank you in advance of your time.
Donald
Donald J. Palmisano, Jr.
Executive Director/CEO
Medical Association of Georgia
1849 The Exchange
Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
678-303-9290 (Phone)
678-303-3732 (Fax)
404-312-9030 (Mobile)
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Update from ACS Washington Office
ACS Leaders,
I want to give you an update on a couple of important issues for Fellows of the American College of Surgeons.
Next week, the House of Representatives will consider legislation that repeals the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) that was included in the Affordable Care Act (the health care reform law). The legislation, which is supported by the American College of Surgeons, was originally introduced as the “Medicare Decisions Accountability Act” (HR 452). Repealing the IPAB would cost the Federal Government $3.1 billion. This legislation is supported by almost all Republicans and a significant number of Democrats in the House of Representatives. Many experts believed that the legislation could get a strong bipartisan vote when brought to the House floor.
Last week, the decision was made by the House Republican leadership to combine this legislation with the “Help, Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act” (HR 5). HR 5 – which is also supported by the ACS - is a federal medical liability reform bill (based on California’s MICRA law -- $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, etc…..) that Congress has considered multiple times during the past 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has advised Congress that passing HR 5 into law would save the Federal Government $57 billion.
So, the vote next week will be on a revised HR 5 (incorporating both bills) and will be called the “Protecting Access to Healthcare Act.”
The good news…. Combining the two bills would save the Federal Government approximately $54 billion.
The bad news ….. Rather than getting a strong bipartisan vote with a significant number of House Democrats voting yes, House Democrats (with maybe a few exceptions) will likely vote no (because of the medical liability reform bill) as they have for the past 8-10 years and this will be seen as a partisan vote. A strong bipartisan vote may have put pressure on the Senate Democrats and the White House to support repealing the IPAB. Side note, we may see some Republicans voting against the bill. There is a growing number of House Republicans (particularly some of the newer Representatives) who believe that medical liability reform should be under the jurisdiction of the states rather than the Federal Government.
We will keep you updated……
Christian Shalgian
Director
Division of Advocacy and Health Policy
American College of Surgeons
20 F St, NW Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20001
Email: cshalgian@facs.org
Thursday, March 15, 2012
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Monday, March 12, 2012
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Thursday, March 1, 2012
ACS Position on IPAB Legislation
ACS Leaders…..
Recently, he House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee passed a bill that repeals the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The bill has over 225 cosponsors including a number of prominent Democrats. Yesterday, the American College of Surgeons sent a letter in support of this legislation. Virtually the entire health care community is on record supporting the legislation. I expect that the bill may get as many as 300 votes in support when the bill is voted on in the House in the coming weeks. The bill faces significant opposition in the Senate and the President is opposed to the bill. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Christian
Christian Shalgian
Director
Division of Advocacy and Health Policy
American College of Surgeons
20 F St, NW Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20001
Email: cshalgian@facs.org
Phone: 202-672-1504
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