Cuts in Medicare Coming in Less Than 45 Days

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Cuts in Medicare Coming in Less Than 45 Days! (Reissued) Cuts in Medicare Coming in Less Than 45 Days! (Reissued)

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Less Than 20 Work Days Remain Good People, the previous alert had mailing problems and only reached 496 people of 5772 messages sent. The recipient list on this message now includes Speaker Nancy Pelosi's public address . Please make sure she gets the message! This reissued alert is dated 16 November which means there are 44 calendar days remaining until the Sustained Growth Rate (SGR) formula of Medicare Law will manadate a 10% cut in your physician's reimbursements for your health care.
As Congress does not work week ends and holidays, takes off early for Thanksgiving and adjourns well before Christmas, they might have 20 days remaining to do the "People's Business" which includes stopping the SGR cuts in January.
If these cuts are allowed to happen, as a military retiree, you will be impacted in two ways:
1. TRICARE reimbursements are indexed as a percentage of the MEDICARE Allowable Amount. Thus, even though you might not be covered by MEDICARE, your out of pocket medical expenses will increase because your TRICARE reimbursements decreased.
2. Regardless of whether you have TRICARE or TRICARE FOR LIFE, you might have difficulties finding a health care provider.
A recent American Medical Association survey of nearly 9,000 doctors shows that if the payment cut goes into effect:
- 60% of doctors would limit the number of new MEDICARE patients they accept;
- 70% would defer the purchase of needed information technology in 2008;
- 50% would reduce their staff; and
- 14% would stop treating patients entirely.
Scheduled SGR adjustments over the next nine years will amount to a 40% reduction in payments, while doctors' costs are expected to increase 20% during the same period.
In addition to asking for a reversal of the scheduled 10% cut, please ask your elected officials to eliminate the SGR formula.
Remember, less than 20 working days until it is too late to do anything!

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