AMA UPDATE
Much work remains to ensure Medicare fulfills its potential
BY SCOTT FERGUSON , MD SECRETARY , AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES PAST PRESIDENT ( 2004-2005 ), ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began , physicians across Arkansas and throughout our nation have responded with courage and skill despite considerable risk to their personal health and the financial pressures imposed by this generational public health crisis .
The AMA recognizes the stress physicians have endured since the earliest days of this pandemic , and we have created dozens of tools and evidence-based resources to support your efforts , delivered PPE and other critical equipment to keep you and your patients safe , and helped secure billions in financial relief to keep your practices running .
Thanks to persistent pressure from the AMA and other leading medical organizations – including state partners and physicians directly impacted – Congress passed bipartisan legislation at the end of last year to avert potentially devastating Medicare physician payment cuts totaling nearly 10 % that were set to take effect in 2022 .
But as welcome as those measures are , the fact remains that a tremendous amount of work remains before us to implement the fundamental reforms the Medicare program needs to provide sustainable payment rates that accurately reflect increased costs of care . Preventing draconian cuts to physician reimbursement in the short term is the right place to start , but that alone will not get us where we need to be .
The temporary expansion of telehealth services covered by Medicare during the pandemic should be made permanent . We must provide physicians with the resources and flexibility to deliver appropriate care to their patients while minimizing the administrative burdens placed upon them – burdens that directly diminish the quality care patients deserve .
Plus , we must empower physicians to help rein in those aspects of health care spending over which they can assert influence instead of allowing Medicare policymakers to invoke inappropriate cost-control measures such as payment cuts , coverage denials , and prior authorization . Steps like those improperly transfer financial risk to physicians and physician practices while simultaneously jeopardizing patient care .
The AMA will continue to push for a simplified Medicare payment system that works for participating providers in a relevant , predictable , and responsible manner . We need a system that rewards quality patient care instead of data entry , which encourages the type of innovation that allows physicians to redesign care delivery while maintaining the financial stability they need to do so .
The physical , emotional , and financial toll on physicians and all health workers during this pandemic has been immense . We cannot change the past , but we can work collaboratively to fix the obvious flaws in the current Medicare system in the hope of avoiding payment battles year after year . Patients and their physicians deserve better . ■
182 THE JOURNAL OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY