TMA EVPGram

Our senators and representatives are back in Washington today after the July 4 recess. It’s time for them to put away the holiday picnic fixings and get to work immediately fixing the Medicare payment system for physicians. TMA leaders are arranging meetings with U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, whose votes allowed the 10.6-percent cut in Medicare payments to become official on July 1. In the meantime, please use the TMA Grassroots Action Center to contact our senators and send this vital, two-part message:

• Make it your No.1 priority to pass legislation that will reverse the cuts before they further limit access to physicians for elderly patients on Medicare and Texans with disabilities; and
• Begin work right away on a bill that will permanently fix the Medicare payment system, such as Senator Cornyn's S 2729, so that it can obtain the bipartisan support it needs to pass.

This weekend’s Houston Chronicle published an excellent article explaining the pending access crisis in Texas, and The New York Times had a great editorial urging Congress to take quick action.