EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/78788
August 2012 costs. Beginning in 2014, this board of 15 non-elected government offi- cials will be recommending cuts to Medicare when spending exceeds a targeted growth amount. The IPAB will unfairly target physician fees (which only constitute 10% of Medicare spending) until 2020 when hospitals and long-term care facili- ties (which account for 30% of Medicare spending) will also be sub- ject to cuts. This board's decisions are largely irreversible since it takes a two-thirds majority of Congress to overturn any IPAB decision. 3. Secure Medical Liability Reform. One type of reform would be to put caps on non-economic (punitive) damages. This type of reform has been adopted at a state level by California, Texas, Utah, and others, and in these states, medical liability insurance premiums have been seen to drop significantly. An- other type of reform would be the concept that if a physician follows an evidence-based diagnostic and treatment paradigm, then that physician should not be liable for malpractice. This provision would go a long way in reducing defensive medicine costs. 4. Delay implementation of the value-based payment modifier. The ACA requires that CMS imple- ments the value-based payment modifier, which will pay physicians based on quality and efficiencies as compared to peers in their geograph- ical area. One of the problems is that a sufficient number of specialty spe- cific quality measures haven't been developed to begin this program in 2015 based on performance in 2013. Therefore, ASCRS would like to see a delay in the start of this program until adequate measures have been developed by respective specialty societies. Dr. Chang: What can ASCRS members do to make a difference? Dr. Bakewell: ASCRS members in the U.S. can make a difference politically by getting involved. At the very least, each member should make a yearly contribution to eyePac, so that the Government Relations Committee can financially assist legislators in their election and re-election campaigns who are friendly to ophthalmology specifi- cally and organized medicine in general. Money given from eyePac to a legislator gets us a conversation with that legislator, but still does not guarantee results in our favor in terms of the legislative process. If physicians are ever going to influence the direction of the med- ical profession again, it is paramount that we develop trusting relation- ships with legislators. This can begin by inviting a legislator to your prac- tice and showing him/her the hur- dles that we face on a daily basis trying to practice medicine. Making a subsequent contact on Capitol Hill during a Legislative Fly-In can help reinforce the initial contact. Making a personal contribution to the legislator also is helpful. Sign up to be a "grassroots eye contact" on the ASCRS website. This provides the Government Relations Committee with a list of physicians who either have an existing relation- ship with a member of Congress or are willing to help out when needed in a given state. Respond to ASCRS Alerts by contacting your legislators either by email or phone regarding important bills. Sometimes a legislator votes depending on how constituents "weigh in." Read the Washington Watch Weekly, which is a legislative and regulatory update distributed weekly online. This helps us to keep abreast of the issues. Please don't assume that it is someone else's responsibility to fight for our patients and our practices. There is tremendous force and mo- mentum if we all respond together. EW Contact information Bakewell: eyemanaz@aol.com From The World's Most Respected Diamond Knife Company... 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