AAFP issues Action Alert on Medicare payment

Though Congress took action at the end of 2007 to stop a 10.1-percent pay cut in Medicare reimbursement rates from going into effect Jan. 1, physicians now face a 10.6-percent cut starting July 1. To help members voice their discontent with a Medicare pay cut and the never-ending seesaw of threatened cuts and last-minute fixes, AAFP has launched a broad-based campaign to mobilize the medical community.

Through the Medicare: Stop the Cut campaign, AAFP will stimulate grassroots action by providing online resources and links, which include sample letters to federal lawmakers, patients and newspapers; a sample petition for patients; a poster template; and a link to AAFP’s advocacy center, Speak Out. Access these tools through July on AAFP’s Medicare: Keep the Door Open Web page.

AAFP has also requested members to submit their stories of “Medicare hardship,” to draw attention to the real-life examples of physicians closing their doors to Medicare or limiting their practices because of troubles with the program. Send your story to ann@aafp.org for future use in publications or stories.