The complex formula used to determine how much physicians will be reimbursed for treating Medicare beneficiaries continues to be a thorn in the side of Congress, as well as the nation's doctors. With the House and Senate negotiating a bill that includes the fate of that formula—the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)—APA is urging its members to take advantage of the opportunity to affect the outcome of the negotiation. One option on the table is to repeal the SGR and end the annual cycle of adjustment postponements that just keeps compounding the size of the cut with which physicians will be saddled. If no action is taken, they are facing a 27 percent fee cut in the near future. One solution urged by Reps. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Dan Benishek (R-Mich.) is to use funding saved from the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to fund the offset in Medicare fees. APA wants members to contact their member of Congress and urge them to sign a letter being circulated by Crowley and Benishek that advocates for this offset option and a repeal of the SGR. By clicking here, psychiatrists can see a toll-free phone number to reach their representative and sample wording they can use in an e-mail or regular letter. (Image: Fanfo/Shutterstock.com)
