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A measure to set Medicaid payment rates for primary-care physicians equal to 100% of Medicare payment rates, including payments for office visits and immunizations “goes a long way to ensure access for primary care,” he said, although this issue should be addressed for Medicaid physicians providing acute care as well, he said.
He also praised the bill's provisions to eliminate denial of insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions, as well as addressing medical liability by pilot-testing the use of health courts.
Rohack admitted the AMA has some lingering concerns about the bill, which places restrictions on physician-owned hospitals. “Congress must also move immediately to correct problems with the bill's proposed Independent Payment Advisory Board,” which could result in misguided payment cuts that undermine access to care and destabilize healthcare delivery, he said.
Addressing one of the greatest frustrations for doctors, Rohack said the AMA plans to hold Congress' “feet to the fire” in permanently repealing Medicare's sustainable growth rate or SGR formula that threatens to cut Medicare payments by 21.2% next month.
Repeated short-term actions to avoid these cuts are inadequate, Rohack said, citing the results of an informal poll which found that 68% of physicians will limit care of Medicare patients if the cut goes through.
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