With just weeks left before the election, health reform talk has slowed down quite a bit. That said, physician groups called on Congress to put the Sustainable Growth Rate formula back on the political agenda. In a letter to Congress, the American Medical Association and more than 100 other groups renewed their call for an SGR repeal, and outlined the ideal transition model. Their plan is one of several alternatives on the table.
Alicia Ault/IMNG Medical MediaAAFP President Dr. Doug Henley
Meanwhile, at their annual Congress of Delegates, the American Academy of Family Physicians called out states that are choosing to forgo Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, saying that partisan politics is overriding good judgment and the extension of health care coverage to more Americans. So far, Texas, South Carolina, Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida have all said that their states will opt out.
At the same time, the law’s skeptics drew some attention to the ACA's Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Government Accountability Office released a report, requested by GOP senators, detailing exactly where the fund’s $14 billion has gone. For the details on that and more, listen to this week’s Policy & Practice Podcast.
--Frances Correa (@FMCReporting)