DCs urged to support Medicare bills

June 19, 2008 — An e-mail sent to members of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) encourages all chiropractors to contact their senators and urge them to vote for a bill that would stop a scheduled 10.6 percent cut in Medicare.

The current Medicare Physician Fee Schedule expires on June 30. Without immediate congressional action, Medicare providers will face a 10.6 percent cut to reimbursement fees on July.

Two bills were recently introduced into the Senate — one by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and the other by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT). Each of the bills addressed the scheduled physician-payment cuts, with each continuing the fee schedule at its current levels through the end of 2008, with a boost of 1.1 percent in 2009. Baucus’ bill was prevented from coming to a vote the week of June 9.  The Senate has not yet taken action on the Grassley bill.

Members of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) can contact their senators electronically through the ACA Legislative Action Center. Or, anyone can use the toll-free hotline of the American Medical Association, which is also supporting these bills, at 800-833-6354, to contact their senators.

 Source: Congress of Chiropractic State Associations, www.cocsa.org