NCMS Encourages Congress to Address Ongoing Healthcare Delivery Challenges

It is apparent the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Now, the future of PPACA is thrust back into the political arena and will surely be debated in the new Congress. In that debate, the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) urges policy makers to address the ongoing challenges faced by physicians and their patients.

Foremost among the challenges now faced by Congress as it works to ensure access to medical care for all Americans, is to demonstrate that it can adequately support the programs it already has. Specifically, Medicare has become an unstable source of coverage for health care services, putting physicians and their elderly patients in jeopardy of losing access to care – often several times per budget cycle – over disputes about the fee schedule (Sustainable Growth Rate formula) that have languished without a solution for more than a decade.

Throughout the debate surrounding enactment of PPACA, the NCMS emphasized issues that must be addressed for reform to be successful. Specific issues such as the cost and financing of existing government-sponsored health coverage programs, widespread physician shortages,
and substantial burdens related to running medical practices, continue to be areas of concern that have not been adequately addressed by policy makers.

Regardless of the Court’s decision, significant health reform, driven by market forces, is already well underway in this country. The NCMS will continue to drive positive change in the health care marketplace, provide leadership within the physician community, and work with elected officials to ensure any proposed legislation is clinically relevant, practical in terms of implementation, and guided by improvements in patient care.

For more information or
assistance, please contact:

Shawn M. Scott, MBA, CAE
Deputy EVP, Operations & Administration
919-833-3836
sscott@ncmedsoc.org

On August 14, 2012, posted in: Uncategorized by
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