Enrolled SJR 3: Relating to the effect of Medicare rates on senior citizens' access to healthcare; and urging the United States Congress to increase Medicare rates for Alaska.
00Enrolled SJR 3 01 Relating to the effect of Medicare rates on senior citizens' access to healthcare; and urging the 02 United States Congress to increase Medicare rates for Alaska. 03 _______________ 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS approximately 55,000 state residents are enrolled in Medicare, and 06 enrollment is expected to double in the next 25 years; and 07 WHEREAS the formula used to develop Medicare reimbursement rates fails to 08 adequately reflect the costs of practicing medicine in the state; and 09 WHEREAS medical doctors in the state have testified that Medicare reimburses less 10 than 50 percent of the doctors' costs of patient care; and 11 WHEREAS Alaska is the only state where Medicare reimbursement rates are lower 12 than Medicaid reimbursement rates; and 13 WHEREAS very few medical doctors in the state accept new Medicare patients, and 14 many current patients are being terminated from care for a lack of sufficient reimbursement so 15 that the numbers of untreated Medicare patients is reaching critical levels; and 16 WHEREAS the United States Congressional Budget Office recently forecast that, 17 under current law, Medicare reimbursement rates for medical doctors will be reduced by an
01 additional 10 percent in 2008; and 02 WHEREAS cumulative reductions in Medicare reimbursement rates for medical 03 doctors are expected to reach 40 percent by 2015, and, during the same time frame, medical 04 practice costs are expected to rise 20 percent; and 05 WHEREAS the state is expected to lose $8,000,000 in federal payments to medical 06 doctors as a result of the 2008 cuts in Medicare reimbursement rates alone, and the projected 07 loss between 2008 and 2015 is $240,000,000; and 08 WHEREAS the American Medical Association calls the Medicare reimbursement 09 formula "broken beyond repair" and wants it replaced; and 10 WHEREAS the Medicare reimbursement formula has resulted in payments to 11 medical doctors in 2007 at the same rates as in 2001; and 12 WHEREAS the United States Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is concerned 13 that Medicare reimbursement rate cuts will worsen patient access to medical doctors; and 14 WHEREAS a national survey of medical doctors conducted by the American Medical 15 Association found that nearly half of the medical doctors surveyed will be forced to decrease 16 or stop accepting new Medicare patients if reimbursement rates are further lowered; and 17 WHEREAS the Military Officers Association of America stated that Medicare 18 reimbursement rate cuts will significantly damage military beneficiaries' access to care, since 19 military health insurance is linked to Medicare reimbursement rates; 20 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 21 Congress and the United States Department of Health and Human Services to rewrite the 22 formulas used to develop Medicare reimbursement rates for Alaska to improve senior citizens' 23 access to medical doctors in the state; and be it 24 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 25 Congress to comprehensively rewrite the Medicare reimbursement system for the entire 26 nation to address inequities in physician reimbursement that are leading to the collapse of the 27 primary care system and limiting senior citizens' access to the physicians best qualified to 28 coordinate their care. 29 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt, United 30 States Secretary of Health and Human Services; and the Honorable Ted Stevens and the 31 Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.
01 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.