Medicare Physicians Fairness Act of 2009 - part two

On Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 10:03 AM, wrote:

Dear Mr. Cohn:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Medicare Physicians Fairness Act of 2009, S. 1776. This is an important issue for physicians in Vermont and across the country and I appreciate the opportunity to keep you informed of my priorities in this area.

I share your concerns regarding the physician reimbursement system through Medicare. You will be happy to know that I have long been a supporter of improving this system. In the last congress I worked with my colleagues to override President Bush's veto of H.R. 6331. As you may know, the primary purpose of H.R. 6331 was to avert the scheduled 10.6 percent cut in physician reimbursement rates nationally. Vermont stood to be hit even harder as reimbursement rates would have dropped by over 12 percent in our state. This is an issue that critically affects patients and care givers across the state.

As you are aware, the Medicare Physicians Fairness Act of 2009 would prevent yet another cut in the physician reimbursements. When this legislation came forward I was happy to support it by voting for cloture to bring it to the senate floor. Unfortunately my efforts alone were not enough to move it forward. Rest assured that I will keep your concerns in mind as we move forward on health reform. Affordable and accessible care for patients and physicians is my primary goal.

Again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Feel free to contact me again in the future about this or any other subject of interest to you, or for up-to-date information on what my office is working on please visit http://www.sanders.senate.gov. While there, I invite you to sign up for my e-newsletter, the Bernie Buzz, at http://sanders.senate.gov/buzz/. Please be aware that due to security screening procedures, postal mail to my office experiences delays that will lengthen the time it takes me to get back to you. The fastest way to contact my office is by calling 1-800-339-9834.

Sincerely,


BERNARD SANDERS
United States Senator