Eyeworld

December 2011 D octors continue to face a 27.4% cut in Medicare physician payments due to the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) for- mula because a Congress-appointed Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction failed to reach an agree- ment in late November. ASCRS, the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, and the American Medical Association had been pushing for the agreement to include a repeal of the SGR. For the past 10 years, Con- gress has issued temporary "fixes" to this formula by delaying large cuts to the Medicare payments. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was responsible for recommending a minimum of $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over a 10-year period. The committee, which was appointed in August, is made up of 12 members of Con- gress—six Republicans and six De- mocrats, three from the House and three from the Senate. According to a press release by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), co-chairs of the committee, the "super commit- tee" said that it would not be able to announce a bipartisan agreement before its Nov. 23 deadline. "Despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differ- ences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal cri- sis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next genera- tion to solve," the statement read. "We remain hopeful that Congress can build on this committee's work and can find a way to tackle this issue in a way that works for the American people and our economy." Current law stipulates that across-the-board cuts totaling $1.2 trillion will be imposed in 2013 if the super committee fails to achieve the targeted amount. "The spending reduction is to be equally divided between defense and non-defense programs," said ASCRS Director of Government Relations Nancey K. McCann. "Medicare cuts are limited to a 2% reduction in all provider payments. This cut would be separate or on top of any poten- tial SGR reduction. Because of the severe cuts that would be imposed on defense and other programs, there has been discussion by Con- gress regarding passage of new legis- lation to prevent them from being implemented in 2013." Ms. McCann said ASCRS would continue to advocate for a perma- nent fix to the SGR. "Bipartisan leaders in Congress have publicly stated their commit- ment to address the 27.4% cut before the end of the year, and op- tions have ranged from short-term patches to longer-term relief that includes a transition to a new Medicare payment system," she said. "Every time Congress enacts a tem- porary fix, the cost to fix the prob- lem and the magnitude of the cuts in future years increases. We're not going to accept a short-term relief that grows the cost of the problem and the cost of future reductions." Ms. McCann said members can "register their outrage" that Con- gress has yet to come up with a per- manent solution to the SGR crisis by logging on to www.ascrsgrassroots. org. To contact a member of Con- gress from the site, log on and click "Take Action" and then "Contact Your Rep Today." Make sure all the required personal information is complete, then write a brief intro- duction and closing to the member of Congress before sending the mes- sage. Physicians have until December 31 to change their participation sta- tus with Medicare. ASCRS has up- dated its "Medicare/SGR Crisis Kit," which includes a detailed explana- tion of the three available Medicare participation options, a sample Medicare private contract and pri- vate contract "opt-out" affidavit, as well as additional sample documents to help physicians communicate with their current, new, and prospective patients. EW Editors' note: Ms. McCann has no fi- nancial interests related to this article. Contact information McCann: nmccann@ascrs.org EW NEWS & OPINION 3 Medicare physician payment cuts looming after "super committee" fails to offer fix by Jena Passut EyeWorld Staff Writer Sen. Patty Murray Rep. Jeb Hensarling

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