Physician Payment

SVS Signs Letter with Other Organizations to Oppose Independent Payment Advisory Board

SVS joined a list of other organizations in signing a letter to Senate Majority Leader and Harry Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The letter expresses strong opposition to the establishment of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) included in the Senate-passed bill. The letter also urges the elimination of the IPAB as House and Senate Leaders work to reconcile differences between the House- and Senate-passed bills. Read the full letter.

Updated January 2010

Short-term Medicare Physician Payment Fix Passed by the House

On December 16, 2010, before adjournment, the House attached a short term Medicare physician payment fix for two months onto the 2010 DOD appropriations bill and passed this legislation. This averts a 21 percent decrease by extending a 1.1 percent increase until March 1, 2010. The Senate is expected to take up this measure on December 18.

SVS signed onto a letter requesting that the Senate repeal the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate formula. This is one of four issues that is in the SVS grassroots letter to the Senate. SVS thanks all those members who have already sent letters to their Senators on health care reform, but more letters are needed. For those who have not yet done so, please send letters to your two Senators today.

Updated December 2009

SVS and Surgical Coalition Forging Pro-active Strategy for Health Care Reform

SVS actively participates in the Surgical Specialties Coalition, representing more than 240,000 surgeons and anesthesiologists. Along with its partners, SVS is preparing for the ensuing debates. With SVS and the coalition having written clear, concise letters to Senate leadership, outlining issues we oppose in their bill while at the same time identifying issues we support, SVS and the Surgical Coalition are forging and then applying a pro-active strategy to fashion a surgeon-friendly final health care reform package. View the letters from SVS and the Surgical Specialties Coalition.

Updated December 2009

Senate Begins Debate on Health Care Reform Legislation the Week of November 30

The United States Senate has agreed to begin debate a health care reform bill. The SVS Health Policy Committee believes the bill contains both strong and weak points. We are heartened by the Senate’s inclusion of comprehensive disease prevention, including greater access to abdominal aortic aneurysm screening, and elimination of patient copayments for all preventive services. However, we continue to oppose the establishment of an Independent Medicare Advisory Board, mandatory participation in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative program, and the lack of medical liability reform. View a more complete analysis of the bill.

We continue to work with our surgical colleagues with the American College of surgeons and other specialty societies to determine if we can agree to a joint position on these issues. We will contact SVS members throughout the Senate debate to keep you updated, and to ask you to contact your Senators at key points in the debate. Learn more.

Updated November 2009

House Passes Comprehensive Health Care Reform Bill

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act on Saturday night, November 7 by a vote of 220-215. See highlights that have an impact upon vascular surgery.

The bill was endorsed by the AMA, AARP and the American College of Surgeons. However, the bill did not include a provision on Medicare physician payment. This is contained in a separate bill, H.R. 3961, Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009, which would reform the Sustainable Growth Rate formula that annually updates reimbursement rates for physician services in Medicare. The House is expected to vote on this during the week of November 16. Learn more.

Updated November 2009

Highlights of the House Tri-Committee Health Care Reform Bill - “America's Affordable Health Choice Act of 2009”, H.R.

Read highlights of the House Tri-Committee Health Care Reform Bill - “America's Affordable Health Choice Act of 2009”, H.R.

Updated September 2009

SVS Signs Onto Letter to President Obama with 17 Other Surgical Specialty Associations

The sign-on letter was sent to the President following comments he made at an August 11, 2009 town hall meeting on health care reform, intimating that surgeons are motivated to make treatment decisions based on what they are reimbursed.

Updated March 2009

Stimulus Bill Enacted

The House of Representatives and Senate passed H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 13, 2009 and President Obama signed the bill on February 17. Click here for a summary of the major health care provisions that have an impact upon vascular surgery; these include Comparative Effectiveness Research, Health Information Technology, NIH Research and Funding, Medicare Improvement Fund Modifications and Prevention and Wellness.

Updated March 2009

The SVS Washington Outpost

JULY 15, 2008 and ZIP CODE 20001; A Unique Victory, A Unique Opportunity, A Unique Challenge

July 15, 2008 will long be remembered as an historic victory for the medical community. The battleground was zip code 20001, the U. S. Capitol, where both houses of Congress overwhelmingly voted to override President Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331). More importantly, July 15, 2008 will be remembered as the day the collective labors and voices of medicine’s advocates – from the AMA and the ACS to the SVS and the patients we serve – spoke as one to convince Congress to vote in favor of H.R. 6331, thus preventing a 10.6% Medicare reimbursement cut in favor of a .5% reimbursement increase for the rest of 2008 and a 1.1% increase for 2009. While the same Act had been rejected by the Senate only days previously, a blistering public relations and advocacy campaign, led by the AMA and ACS in five key states whose senators opposed the Act, plus the courageous appearance and support of Senator Ted Kennedy whose is battling brain cancer, turned the tide in medicine’s favor.

Highlights of H.R. 6331 -- Medicare Improvements For Patients And Providers Act of 2008

On July 15, 2008, President Bush vetoed H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. The main reason was the bill uses cuts to Medicare Advantage ($20 billion over five years) to finance the bill. Within a few hours, both the House of Representatives and Senate voted overwhelmingly to override the veto – 383 to 41 in the House and 70 to 26 in the Senate. The following are Highlights of the law

SVS Signs Letter supporting Stabenow bill, Save Medicare Act of 2008

SVS signed onto a letter with many other physician groups in support of S.2785, the Save Medicare Act of 2008 sponsored by Senator Stabenow (D-MI).

The bill would extend the 2008 Medicare physician payment increase of .5% from July 1 - December 31, averting a 10.6% decrease for the second half of this year. It also provides a 1.8% increase for 2009.

Large Medicare Reductions in President's FY 2009 Budget

On February 4, President Bush released details of his Fiscal Year 2009 budget, which includes large Medicare reductions - $178 billion over the next five years. Significant for vascular surgeons, it does not include any increases for the physician payment update.

Society for Vascular Surgery - 633 N. St. Clair, 24th Floor; Chicago, IL 60611; Phone: 312-334-2300 or 800-258-7188; Fax: 312-334-2320; Email: vascular@vascularsociety.org
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