American Medical Association House of Delegates
Resolution: 713
Subject: Measures for the Return of Physician Financial Freedom
Whereas, The past fifteen years have seen the introduction of managed care and inequitable changes in Medicare reimbursement which has been a failure in reducing the rapid rise of medical costs; and
Whereas, Physician reimbursement is less than 20% of total medical expenditures and the time has come to end this miserable experiment and stop unilateral wage control; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association work to implement the following:
1. Physicians be allowed to balance bill Medicare recipients to the full amount of their normal charge with the patient responsible for the difference between Medicare allowable and physician charges; and
2. Managed Care Organizations be banned from using Medicare reimbursement rates as a basis for their reimbursement and that reimbursement for 2003 should be at least 200% of the usual, customary, and reasonable fee of 1988; and be it further
RESOLVED, That our AMA seek introduction of national legislation to bring about implementation of balance billing of Medicare recipients.
Fiscal Note: No Significant Fiscal Impact
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/upload/mm/interim02/j713i02.rtf
Comment: The House of Delegates of the American Medical Association passed this resolution at their meeting in New Orleans in December 2002.
Arthur Traugott, M.D., an Illinois delegate, in the debate preceding the approval of this resolution:
“If we’re going to look at it only from the physician side, we’ll have a bad PR image problem.”
http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_03/gvsb0106.htm