On June 1, Medicare cut all physician reimbursement by 21.3%. This cut is the last straw in series of cuts in insurance reimbursements over the past decade. I do not normally ask you, my patients and families, to become politically involved, but right now we need your help. I am faced with a dilemma: If these cuts are not taken back and the reimbursement rates corrected, then I am faced with the need to stop taking Medicare & TRICARE. Unfortunately "where Medicare goes, so goes MaineCare and eventually all other insurance companies."
At the end of April this year, the AOA (American Osteopathic Association) did an online membership poll and found that if this law is not stopped then almost one out of every four (24%) DO's will stop taking any Medicare patients at all and another one out of every three (33%) DO's may or may not stop taking Medicare patients. This will have a HUGE impact on our community. This could potentially destroy private practices (those of us not employed by one of the local hospitals), not to mention the potential damage to our local rural hospitals.
Would you please copy the letter written below and send it to Senator Collins and Senator Snow? If you click on the "Write to Congress" button at the left, it will direct you to your appropriate representatives by zip code.) Another option would be to copy the letter and put it into the letter space on the AAFP website or use the generic letter already on the site. Feel free to personalize the letter in any manner that you see fit. (Change it to personalize it for your own doctors!)
(If you would like to read the "fix" that is on the docket, it is H.R.3961)
Thank you for your support and thank you for choosing Well Spring Health Center for your wellness care.
Eva B. Shay, DO
Caribou State Office:
25 Sweden Street, Suite A
Caribou, ME 04736
Main: (207) 493-7873
Presque Isle State Office:
169 Academy Street
Suite 3
Presque Isle, ME 04769
Main: (207) 764-5124
Fax: (207) 764-6420
Dear Senator:
I am a constituent from Aroostook County, Maine. I vote. Today I am asking for your immediate assistance.
Congress made a promise to elderly and disabled Americans when they created Medicare 45 years ago. The promise: That this "greatest generation" would not go without needed health care. Yet today, you and your colleagues on Capitol Hill are breaking that promise. And you are jeopardizing the health care security of millions of elderly and disabled Americans who depend on Medicare, as well as our servicemen and women and their families who rely on TRICARE.
I have learned that on June 1, Medicare cut my Osteopathic Physician's pay by 21.3%. This means that she is earning less today than she earned a decade ago. Yet she is paying her staff with 2010 wages. Her office rent, electricity, internet access, heating and water costs have gone up, and so have the prices of medical supplies and equipment.
Furthermore, I have learned that it is Congress who sets the fees that Medicare and TRICARE pay physicians, and that it was Congress's inaction that allowed this 21.3% pay cut to happen. As a result, my Osteopathic Physician is now faced with the difficult decision to no longer provide care for Medicare and TRICARE patients. She is also concerned that "where Medicare goes, so goes MaineCare and eventually all other insurance companies."
I have worked hard, paid my taxes, defended my country, educated my children. I have helped build this great nation. What do I ask in return? That you honor the promise made by Congress when they created Medicare and that you ensure my access to physicians who can help maintain my quality of life to the end.
Please be aware that if she no longer takes Medicare and TRICARE, then I will need to travel out of Aroostook County, at least 1.5-3.5 hours. to the next closest physician who might provide her specialty.
I am asking you to support legislation that rescinds this pay cut now! I am also asking you to support legislation that permanently changes Medicare and TRICARE payment so your constituents served by these programs will have reliable access to the doctors and health care they need. Please get this done.
Respectfully,
Your name
Eva Shay, DO
I've personalized the letter and sent it to all four (Senators Collins and Snow, Rep Michaud and President Obama). Have you voiced your legal right to speech and told them what you think yet? We fight for this right of speech with wars, please exercise that right.