Available at 
Tweet
In case anyone here is interested and wants to pass it along to their spouse, this is from the ACP:
Dear ACP member,
Should Congress allow Medicare payments to physicians to be cut by more than four percent next year?
Should Congress at the same time require that you purchase and use costly and untested electronic prescribing systems for your Medicare patients?
If your answer to both is "No," then the American College of Physicians needs your help. Negotiators for the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives are on the verge of reaching agreement on several key issues in the pending Medicare prescription drug bill. They will decide if the legislation will replace across-the-board Medicare payment cuts in 2004 and 2005 with positive updates of at least 1.5% per year. They will also decide if the final bill will require that physicians purchase and use unproven electronic prescribing technologies.
Earlier this year, internists faced similar cuts in Medicare payments. Thousands of ACP members joined together to communicate to lawmakers the impact of such cuts on patient care. The result was that Congress enacted legislation to halt the cuts and replace them with positive updates in 2003. Flaws in
Medicare's physician payment update formula, however, will trigger another across-the-board cut of 4.2% or more in 2004 -- followed by even more cuts in 2005. It is essential that congressional negotiators agree to include provisions in the Medicare prescription drug bill that will replace the cuts in 2004 and 2005 with positive updates of at least 1.5% per year.
Voluntary use of e-prescribing technology has the potential to improve patient care. Unworkable and costly unfunded mandates that will require physicians to purchase and use untested e-prescribing systems will do more harm than good, however. It is essential that congressional negotiators reject unfunded e-prescribing mandates and instead support a process that will encourage the voluntary development and use of e-prescribing technologies.
How can you help? Please go to ACP's Legislative Action Center (LAC) at http://capwiz.com/acp to learn how you can communicate your concerns on these issues directly to your members of Congress. The LAC will give you a sample letter that you can simply personalize and e-mail and fax to your Senators and Representative with only a few clicks of your mouse. This process usually takes less than five minutes of your time.
Thousands of ACP members have previously come through when the College has asked you to contact lawmakers on a critical issue for our specialty. I am confident internists will again do what is necessary to persuade our lawmakers to halt further Medicare payment cuts and prevent an unworkable e-prescribing mandate from becoming law.
Dear ACP member,
Should Congress allow Medicare payments to physicians to be cut by more than four percent next year?
Should Congress at the same time require that you purchase and use costly and untested electronic prescribing systems for your Medicare patients?
If your answer to both is "No," then the American College of Physicians needs your help. Negotiators for the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives are on the verge of reaching agreement on several key issues in the pending Medicare prescription drug bill. They will decide if the legislation will replace across-the-board Medicare payment cuts in 2004 and 2005 with positive updates of at least 1.5% per year. They will also decide if the final bill will require that physicians purchase and use unproven electronic prescribing technologies.
Earlier this year, internists faced similar cuts in Medicare payments. Thousands of ACP members joined together to communicate to lawmakers the impact of such cuts on patient care. The result was that Congress enacted legislation to halt the cuts and replace them with positive updates in 2003. Flaws in
Medicare's physician payment update formula, however, will trigger another across-the-board cut of 4.2% or more in 2004 -- followed by even more cuts in 2005. It is essential that congressional negotiators agree to include provisions in the Medicare prescription drug bill that will replace the cuts in 2004 and 2005 with positive updates of at least 1.5% per year.
Voluntary use of e-prescribing technology has the potential to improve patient care. Unworkable and costly unfunded mandates that will require physicians to purchase and use untested e-prescribing systems will do more harm than good, however. It is essential that congressional negotiators reject unfunded e-prescribing mandates and instead support a process that will encourage the voluntary development and use of e-prescribing technologies.
How can you help? Please go to ACP's Legislative Action Center (LAC) at http://capwiz.com/acp to learn how you can communicate your concerns on these issues directly to your members of Congress. The LAC will give you a sample letter that you can simply personalize and e-mail and fax to your Senators and Representative with only a few clicks of your mouse. This process usually takes less than five minutes of your time.
Thousands of ACP members have previously come through when the College has asked you to contact lawmakers on a critical issue for our specialty. I am confident internists will again do what is necessary to persuade our lawmakers to halt further Medicare payment cuts and prevent an unworkable e-prescribing mandate from becoming law.
Comment