WASHINGTON — Health care reform would be nice. That seemed to be the message from politicians speaking at a national advocacy conference sponsored by the American Medical Association.
Democrats and Republicans told the audience of politically active physicians about their ideas for addressing problems with Medicare reimbursement, the medical liability system, and, more generally, a health care system that is failing both physicians and patients.
“If our health care system doesn't work for doctors, it doesn't work,” said Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). She drew resounding applause from the physicians when she proposed that Congress stop legislating Medicare reimbursement freezes and replace the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula with something better.
Physicians at the meeting heard similar rhetoric from other lawmakers. “Most of us don't want to go through this annual ritual,” said Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.). However, he also said that fixes are expensive and doctors shouldn't expect them to happen this year.
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) proposed that Congress form a task force to review the SGR over a 2-year period and increase physician reimbursement 5% a year in the interim.
Lawmakers from both parties said physicians need relief from skyrocketing medical liability premiums in many states.
Republicans continue to push for caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, an approach supported by states in which similar caps have been linked to slower increases in liability premiums. Democrats oppose caps because caps put limits on legitimate lawsuits.
“Caps don't get to the heart of the problem,” said Sen. Clinton. Instead, Congress needs to bridge the gap between medical liability reform and error-reporting legislation. She cited the University of Michigan's “Sorry Works!” initiative—a program that encourages doctors and their insurers to be honest when mistakes happen, offer apologies, and provide compensation up front to patients and their attorneys—which has cut liability costs, freeing up new money to improve systems that can reduce errors.
Democrats and Republicans demonstrated a similar divide on the uninsured. Rep. Markey said the government should expand Medicare, Medicaid, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits program to include more of the uninsured. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) said the last thing government should do is take over the responsibility for providing health care.