Dear Editor,
As a military retiree with Medicare and your voting constituent, I urge you to initiate and/or support any legislation that will amend or repeal the sustained growth rate (SGR) formula of the Medicare law.
The SGR formula mandates a 10 percent cut in physician reimbursements on January 1, 2008. As Congress does not work weekends and takes off early for Thanksgiving and Christmas, you have less than 20 days to stop these cuts; if left unchecked, the next nine years the scheduled of cuts would total approximately 40 percent; during this same period physician costs are expected to increase 20 percent.
Since 2002, Congress has merely blocked the cuts for one year at a time, and has usually authorized a small percentage increase of reimbursements. The correct action of Congress should be to amend or repeal the SGR provision.
A recent survey by the American Medical Association of nearly 9,000 doctors shows that if the payment cuts take effect:
– 60% of doctors will limit new Medicare patients;
– 70% will defer purchase of needed information technology in 2008;
– 50% will reduce their staff; and
– 14% will stop treating patients entirely.
Tricare reimbursement rates are indexed as a fraction of the Medicare allowable amount. Thus, these SGR cuts will impact all military retirees and their families whether they are under age 65 with basic tricare or they are 65-plus with Medicare and Tricare for Life. In far too many areas of the United States, there are already regions where no physicians will accept Tricare.
Based on the above dismal statistics, these “black holes” will continue to increase in size and number. So much for the promise of free lifetime health care for military retirees and their families. Please do all within your power to stop the cuts in Medicare reimubrsements scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2008.
William Colburn, Hollister
