The National Medical Association Supports the Repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board

March 15, 2012 - PRLog -- The National Medical Association (NMA) supports the repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) since the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and related reimbursement issues remain unresolved.

“As we indicated last year, we believe IPAB is well intentioned, but we fear the unintended consequences,” remarked Dr. Cedric M. Bright, the NMA’s President. “We can almost predict a scenario where physicians face an unfortunate ‘double jeopardy’ in a given year – a pay cut under the SGR, followed by another adjustment by the IPAB that makes matters worse,” he continued.

The SGR is the formula by which doctors are reimbursed for taking care of Medicare patients, and the IPAB is a provision in the Affordable Care Act intended to recommend cost saving measures for Medicare that will go into effect unless Congress intervenes within a specified period of time.

“Adding IPAB on top of the broken SGR system not only kicks the can down the road, it imperils patient access, exacerbates disparities in care, and compromises the health status of the vulnerable populations our members serve. We can do better. We urge Congress to replace the SGR and re-examine past proposals from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) that could keep Medicare solvent for future generations,” concluded Dr. Bright.

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Founded in 1895, the National Medical Association is the nation’s oldest and largest medical association representing the interests of more than 50,000 African American physicians and the patients that they serve. The NMA repeatedly advocates for policies that would assure equitable and quality health care for all people. To learn more about the NMA visit www.NMAnet.org