Doctors Sue HHS, CMS Over 'Secretive' Payment Committee

Attempts to speak with AAFP leaders on Wednesday afternoon were not successful, but the AAFP has created a task force to increase efforts to add cognitive value to the relative value unit physician fee formula. And the group is calling for the RVU formula to be revised.

Fischer says he and his colleagues are forced to address the issue in a lawsuit because nobody else has taken it up. "Family medicine and primary care are in a crisis in this country and nobody's been willing to fix it. The government hasn't tried to fix it. The medical schools haven't tried to fix it. The specialists are off doing procedures and making a lot of money," he says.

"My daughter is a resident in family medicine and I am doing this at the end of my career to make things better for her as she becomes a family doctor." Fischer says the practice has spent about $100,000 in legal fees. "It's money coming from seeing patients one at a time in the office," he says.

The plaintiffs have set up a Web site to solicit donations from primary care physicians, patients and other sympathizers. "Some people call it David and Goliath. One guy in the office called it Don Quixote," Fischer says. "Pick your metaphor."

See Also:
 AAFP Calls For Revisions to RVU Formula