Washington, D.C. – Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick voted to help pass H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009.
The bill is designed to eliminate a steep cut in reimbursement payments for physicians. The cut was scheduled for 2010, and would have likely reduced the number of Idaho physicians who accept Medicare.
“AARP applauds Congressman Minnick for taking a stand for older Idahoans on Medicare,” said Jim Wordelman, State Director for AARP in Idaho. “His vote to move this critical legislation forward is a move to strengthen Medicare and ensure that Idahoans continue to have access to the doctor of their choice.”
Minnick’s vote also won praise from medical groups.
“H.R. 3961 does away with past budget gimmicks to address the broken Medicare physician formula, and instead lays the foundation for fiscally honest and responsible reform,” stated Dr. J. James Rohack, president of the American Medical Association. “The band-aid approach has made future cuts steeper and increased the cost of true payment reform. Congressman Minnick's vote in favor of H.R. 3961 ensures America's seniors and military families continue to have access to high-quality physician care.”
“The Idaho Medical Association strongly supports repeal of the SGR to ensure continued access to quality medical care for Idaho’s seniors,” said Susie Pouliot, CEO of the Idaho Medical Association. “Without action to eliminate the flawed SGR formula, physicians face a 21.2% cut for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries on January 1, 2010. Such drastic payment reductions would force physicians to limit the number of Medicare patients they see, impacting the ability of Idaho seniors to see a doctor when they need one. This situation in our state is exacerbated by the fact that Idaho consistently ranks as last or next to last in the ratio of physicians per population.”
Minnick wins praise for vote to fix Medicare payments
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