Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

  • Conditions
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis
    • Gout and Crystalline Arthritis
    • Myositis
    • Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders
    • Pain Syndromes
    • Pediatric Conditions
    • Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Sjögren’s Disease
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
    • Systemic Sclerosis
    • Vasculitis
    • Other Rheumatic Conditions
  • FocusRheum
    • ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis
    • Gout
    • Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
  • Guidance
    • Clinical Criteria/Guidelines
    • Ethics
    • Legal Updates
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence
      • Other ACR meetings
      • EULAR/Other
    • Research Rheum
  • Drug Updates
    • Analgesics
    • Biologics/DMARDs
  • Practice Support
    • Billing/Coding
    • EMRs
    • Facility
    • Insurance
    • QA/QI
    • Technology
    • Workforce
  • Opinion
    • Patient Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Rheuminations
      • Video
    • Speak Out Rheum
  • Career
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Awards
    • Career Development
  • ACR
    • ACR Home
    • ACR Convergence
    • ACR Guidelines
    • Journals
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
    • From the College
    • Events/CME
    • President’s Perspective
  • Search

ACR Unites with AMA to Correct SGR

Staff  |  Issue: July 2007  |  July 1, 2007

Fair Medicare reimbursement is of great concern of physicians today. During the past few years, the SGR has called for damaging cuts to physician payments. Each year, however, Congress has placed a temporary fix on the scheduled cuts.

The payment cut for 2008 is scheduled to be 10%. This would be the most devastating cut to date for all practicing physicians. Therefore, the ACR, along with the American Medical Association (AMA) and 85 other physician and health professional organizations, recently signed a letter to Congress that includes these recommendations for 2007 Medicare SGR legislation:

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

1. The SGR should be repealed and replaced with an updated system that reflects increases in physicians’ and other health professionals’ practice costs.

2. Congress should support initiatives by organizations representing physicians and other health professionals to bridge gaps in care and ensure appropriateness of services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

3. If immediate action is not possible, Congress must:

  • Establish by law a transition plan and completion date for eliminating the SGR;
  • Provide positive physician/health professional updates by statutes for each year until the repeal takes place;
  • Stabilize payments for a minimum of two years;
  • Fully fund the positive updates; and
  • Urge the administration to removed physician-administered drugs from the SGR and make other refinements.

4. The transitional 2007 Medicare Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative should be re-examined before being expanded in future years.

Band-aids to SGR are not enough; there must be a legislative fix. Finding a fair solution to the Medicare reimbursement payment issue is a top legislative priority of the ACR, and it will continue working collaboratively with the AMA and other physician and health professional groups and utilizing its grassroots network to ensure fair reimbursements for physicians in the future. Contact your congressional representatives today and voice your support for these recommendations.

Share: 

Filed under:From the CollegeLegislation & Advocacy Tagged with:AMAAmerican Medical Association (AMA)Practice ManagementReimbursement

Related Articles

    President’s Perspective: ACR Addresses Reform of Sustainable Growth Rate Formula

    December 1, 2013

    The College’s multi-pronged plan to replace flawed SGR payment system requires continued support from rheumatologists, healthcare professionals

    Rheumatologists React to Looming Medicare Payment Reductions

    November 1, 2011

    MedPAC recommends deep cuts to physician payments

    Pointers for Rheumatologists Considering AMA Membership

    February 3, 2012

    Join the AMA. Don’t join because you agree with everything the AMA does. Join so we, as rheumatologists, will continue to have a voice and make a difference.

    The ACR’s Representation in American Medical Association Critical as Review Looms

    March 17, 2017

    There is a saying that if the American Medical Association (AMA) did not exist, we would have to invent it. That is just what Dr. Nathan S. Davis did back in 1845 when he called for a national medical convention and laid the foundation for the establishment of the AMA in 1847. This new group would…

  • About Us
  • Meet the Editors
  • Issue Archives
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1931-3268 (print). ISSN 1931-3209 (online).
  • DEI Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Preferences