Doctors come out firing for Medicare pay fix

The nation's largest medical society is jumping into action right away on a campaign to help the Senate Democratic leadership pass a bill next week to would hike their pay rates.

The American Medical Association (AMA) announced Thursday that it is launching a national television advertising campaign to push senators to pass the bill, even though centrist Democrats and all Republicans are concerned that it would add to the federal budget deficit.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to begin debate next week on a bill, which would cost around $240 billion over 10 years and not be offset by budget cuts or tax increases, just before the Senate opens its fight over the healthcare reform package Reid is in the process of finalizing.

Reid is going to need the AMA's help getting the bill passed. Physicians and their lobbying groups could prove key to rallying the 60 votes needed to pass procedural motions to allow the bill to come to the floor and the votes do not appear to immediately be available. Democrats, including Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (N.D.), oppose moving the bill as-is because it isn't paid for.

More important that the AMA's support for this bill, however, is that passing it could go a long way toward winning the endorsements of the AMA and other physician groups for healthcare reform itself. The AMA previously endorsed a House healthcare reform bill that included a similar fix to the Medicare payment system.

The bill would fix the existing Medicare formula, which is widely regarded as broken because it calls for cuts in payments every year. For nearly a decade, Congress has passed short-term solutions to prevent those cuts. Without action this year, physicians would see their fees for seeing Medicare patients slashed by 21 percent.

"There is widespread agreement that Medicare physician cuts will harm seniors’ access and choice of physician,” AMA President J. James Rohack said in a statement.  “Congress can no longer put a band-aid on the problem. As we undertake an historic effort to improve the heath system, it’s time for permanent repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula.”