Where President Obama and and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stand on healthcare issues affecting rheumatologists and the medical profession as a whole.
A Fork in the Road: Advocacy for Rheumatology
Is that fork bent? So you must be a rheumatologist.
Will There Be an SGR Fix This Year?
Rheumatologists should expect at least one more time-stamped extension to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula before Congress makes any lasting changes to it. At issue is the future of rheumatologists’ Medicare payments, including the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) recommendation from last year to scrap the formula, reduce payments for specialist services by 5.9% for each of three years, and then freeze them for seven more years, and the 27.4% SGR cut that has been repeatedly delayed by extensions.
Rheumatologists React to Looming Medicare Payment Reductions
MedPAC recommends deep cuts to physician payments
ACR Talks to Congress about Physician Payment Reform
This year, key congressional committees that oversee healthcare have held hearings on the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and are discussing various payment reform options. The ACR has submitted testimony to the key committees encouraging Congress to:
On the Edge with Medicare: Will Cuts Drive Rheumatologists to Opt Out?
Will cuts drive rheumatologists to opt out?
Eye on the Election
Over the past two years, we have heard presidential candidates touting their messages to voters. Each candidate has crafted messages they believe will appeal to voters, and as campaigns continue to accelerate, these messages will saturate the radio, television, and the reading materials of the American public.
The Symptoms or the Disease
Where should we focus?