| Peter W. Carmel, MD, president of the American Medical Association, addressed an audience of over 100 physicians and medical students at the 165th Annual Meeting of the Medical Society of Milwaukee County on Monday night.
Among the topics of his presentation was concern for the rapidly growing physician shortage, where an estimated shortage of over 124,000 physicians by the year 2025 would be devastating to patient care. He also discussed the AMA's position on the final CMS ruling on Accountable Care Organizations, and talked briefly about the tremendous burden physicians will face with the transition to the ICD-10 code set by Oct. 1, 2013.
Perhaps most noteworthy was Doctor Carmel's in depth discussion of Medicare payment reform, an issue affecting healthcare providers across the country. Current physician payment rates fall more than 20% below the cost of care, and a 27% cut in payment rates is scheduled for March 1. Consequently, many physicians are considering the need to severely limit the number of Medicare patients they see, even as millions of baby boomers are becoming seniors and needing more care. Meanwhile, even modest payment patches are adding billions of dollars to the cost of fixing the system—a fiscally irresponsible plan that will burden younger generations.
Doctor Carmel urged MSMC members to contact their elected officials to discuss the devastating effects of Medicare's flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and demand a permanent solution to the problem. Members may utilize the AMA grassroots hotline at (800) 833-6354.
 Review Doctor Carmel's presentation in full.
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