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TOA
President's Update
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By David
Teuscher, MD
TOA President
I need your urgent attention to a pending matter today. A few weeks ago I wrote you about the Medicare physician payment rates that are projected by 2015 to be cut by about 40% due to the flawed payment update formula. The election results are in and there will be a change of leadership on both sides of the nation’s capitol, leaving the Medicare fix
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in question. Unless Congress acts this week, your payments will be
cut over 5% on nearly every payer including Medicare starting January 1st.
The question is whether this Congress will fix the planned cuts in the lame duck session the next two weeks, or will we have to play a game of chance with the next Congress to retro-actively restore
what will be cut. The 2007 cut alone to Texas physicians will be $219 million due to the negative 5% update, not counting the devastating impact it will have on our commercial and workers comp payments that are tied to Medicare rates. Orthopaedics is expected to sustain a higher cut than most specialties, so buckle up and get your chin strap snapped.
If this concerns you as much as it does me, my challenge to you is to contact your Congressman and both U.S. Senators today and tell them to fix the Medicare mess that they made before the end of this year. It will take you 15 minutes total to make the calls. We need to turn up the pressure on Congress to do the right thing and prevent further access to care problems for our seniors and disabled Texans. Make your calls today and tell them to
restore the cuts now before they come back to Texas for the holidays.
Your second assignment is to focus on the pending 90th Texas Legislature, starting on January 9th, 2007. I hope you will find the time this month to visit with your state senator and state representatives about the issues that concern you. You can bet that taxes on our practices, expanded scope of practice by non-physician providers, and your right to invest in innovative health care facilities will be on the menu. If you are starting to feel like you are “lunch”, you are not paranoid. They are out to get you.
After your call to your Congressman and U.S. Senators today with the message
restore the cuts now, please call your state senator and state representative and schedule a meeting to address your concerns before the session begins in January. If you have any questions on the issues, please contact the TOA or the AAOS D.C. office. I am reminded at this moment of General “Stonewall” Jackson’s admonition to his troops; “Ride to the sound of gunfire.” Let’s ride!
Click here
to find your Congressman.
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Texas
District by District: U.S. Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D.
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Congressman Michael Burgess, a resident of Lewisville, worked as a doctor in Denton County for over 21 years following in the trailblazing footsteps of his physician father Dr. Tim Burgess. A respected physician of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Lewisville, Dr. Burgess delivered more than 3000 babies in North Texas before heading to Congress in 2003.
Rep. Michael Burgess graduated with both an undergraduate and a
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Masters degree from
North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas. After completing his studies, Rep. Burgess went on to received his M.D. from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and returned to North Texas to complete his residency programs at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Continuing his commitment to higher education, Dr. Burgess received another Masters degree in Medical Management from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2000.
Dr. Burgess is the founder of a private practice, Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates of Lewisville, former Chief of Staff for Lewisville Medical Center, and most recently he served as Chief of Obstetrics at Lewisville Medical Center. In addition to working at Lewisville Medical Center and running his own practice, Dr. Burgess served as President of the Denton County Medical Society.
Always dedicated to improving America’s health care system, Dr. Burgess decided to run for the vacated U.S. Congressional seat of Texas’ 26th District in 2002. Alongside modernizing our health care, Dr. Burgess also believes in building a strong defense, protecting our Homeland, cutting wasteful government spending and advocating for tax relief while reforming the tax code into a simpler, fairer system.
Congressman Michael Burgess has been married to his wife, Laura, for 31 years. They are proud parents of three grown children who are all graduates of Denton County Public Schools.
Email Congressman
Michael C. Burgess to thank him for his work!
(Enter
state=Texas zip=76119-8111).
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Call for 2007 Annual Meeting Abstracts:
Deadline this week!
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Please submit your abstract to the TOA 2007 Program Committee. The 2007 Annual Meeting will be held at the fabulous Austin Four Seasons Hotel May 11-13. Special events will be planned for spouses on Saturday and Mother’s Day on Sunday.
Since we will have less time for scientific programming on Saturday and Sunday morning, we are changing the presentation time from ten to
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five minutes. Other orthopaedic
programs (such as the recent AAHKS meeting in Grapevine) move very well in this format. Dr. Robert Kramer, TOA Program Chair and Dr. Eddie Seade, CME Program Chair, have begun lining up subspecialty presentations and workshops.
Our TOA Program Committee welcomes abstract submittals from residents…remember the cash prizes of $1500 to $500.
Abstract forms can be found by clicking here and the Disclosure found can be found
here
(both
of which need to be completed for submitting an abstract).
It is not too early to register for the 2007 TOA Annual Meeting although you will receive a preliminary program in February.
For registration click here.
Once again, here is the preliminary lineup of events to be held from Thursday, May 10th through Sunday, May
13 are as follows:
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TOA Annual Meeting Itinerary
(Preliminary
Lineup) |
Friday, May 11 AM
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| 8:00 am -
12:30 pm |
Communication Course (CME
Ethics) |
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T-Bones Annual Meeting |
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| Friday, May 11
PM |
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| 1:00 pm -
5:00 pm |
Legislative Briefing and
Capitol Visits |
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| 7:00 pm |
Reception |
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T-Bones Annual Meeting |
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| Saturday, May
12 |
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| 8:00 am – 5:00 pm |
Scientific Session (CME) |
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| Sunday, May 13
AM |
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| 8:00 am – 10:30 am |
Scientific Session &
Quiz Bowl (CME) |
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| 10:30 am |
Mothers Day Brunch |
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| Sunday,
May 13 PM |
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| 1:00
pm – 4:00 pm |
Workers
Compensation Seminar (CME) |
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| Contact
Your Member of Congress! |
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Urge Congress to act in the final days of the 109th Congress to stop the 5% cut to Medicare physician payments from taking effect on January 1, 2007.
It appears that Congressional reorganization for the 110th Congress may be completed before January 1, 2007. If committee Chairmen, Ranking Members, and committee assignments are appointed before the new
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Congress convenes, a retroactive fix of Medicare payments could be addressed early in 2007. Regardless, AAOS continues to urge Congress to update the 2007 Medicare physician payments before Congress adjourns this year.
Select surgical specialty groups (AAOS, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons) ran a full page add in USA Today and Congress Daily (a newspaper circulated throughout Capitol Hill) urging constituents to ask their lawmakers to stop the cuts and displaying the need for Congress to act swiftly. The ad read, “Will a surgeon be there when you need one?...Unless Congress acts now, things are going to get a lot worse when payments for services are cut even more starting January 1, 2007.”
You can supplement AAOS advocacy efforts by urging your Senators and Representatives to pass legislation to update the 2007 Medicare physician payments to reflect increases in medical practice costs before adjourning in December. Contact your Members of Congress directly on the Alliance of Specialty Medicine Toll-Free Hotline: 1-866-899-4088.
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