AMA President: Physician Fee Schedule Obsolete

"Unfortunately, the Band-Aids Congress has applied to this problem have created a deeper and deeper hole. That is why we believe it is time to fill the hole and move forward as discussions on health system reform are looking at new ways to incent physicians by paying for care coordination and trying to make sure that patients stay healthy, by keeping them out of the hospital through prevention and screening. All of those things, care coordination, prevention, screening, under the Medicare program causes this formula to make deeper cuts."

Before the bill can reach the Senate floor, it must have at least 60 votes on each of three procedural votes, with the first vote expected some time this week. Rohack says Congress already understands the issue because physicians have lobbied them for the past seven years to "kick the can" on the formula-mandated funding cuts and delay them.

"The feedback we are getting is 'we know this is a problem. We've just got to figure out how to fix it,'" he says. "We need to get this taken care of now because in two short years the baby boomers hit Medicare and knowing how the boomers change social policy, they ain't going to be happy if they don't have access to their physician. That is why we are trying to anticipate the problem by fixing it now instead of waiting to fix it later on down the road."