This letter was sent to me by one of our faculty. Since it's important to all of us I copied it and am posting it here:
Dear Anesthesiology hopeful and Resident Colleagues,
By now you should have received the request below from the ASA leadership asking you to urge CMS to fix the critically inequitable Medicare/Medicaid anesthesiology teaching reimbursement policy that essentially reduces M/M reimbursement to academic programs by 50% and is crippling anesthesiology training programs across the U.S. The need for correction of this problem is so obvious, and the funding needed for this such a miniscule part of the Federal budget, that the lack of ASA progress on this issue can only be due to behind-the-scenes obstruction. I have attached below the notice the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists is distributing to its membership, asking them to request CMS to NOT correct the anesthesiology teaching reimbursement problem. You may be able to deduce the motives behind AANAs opposition to the ASAs position. This is not a political issue, but it is critical public health policy issue because of the adverse impact it has upon the shortage of anesthesiologists and the viability of anesthesiology residency programs. The Medicare/Medicaid anesthesiology teaching reimbursement issue has absolutely nothing to do with anesthesia nurse education.
With public health policy in mind, this is an issue that EVERY academic anesthesiologist, and anesthesiology resident and fellow, should feel compelled to engage on. Please take the time, certainly less than 5 minutes, to utilize the ASA website below to provide your comments to your congressional delegation on this issue. You can be confident that AANA members are doing same. We must fix this problem.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue.
Thanks in advance for your help!
"Dear Colleague:
We are writing to ask for your assistance in our efforts to fix the flawed Medicare anesthesiology teaching payment rule. Please take a few moments out of your day to visit our easy-to-use Web Site at http://www.asahq.org/news/cmsproposal082405.htm to make your voice heard on this important issue.
As you may know, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) did not correct the anesthesia teaching payment policy in the proposed rule changes for the 2006 Medicare Fee Schedule. However, in the same rule, CMS expressed a continued willingness to consider changes to the policy and specifically asked for comments suggesting improvements that would allow it to be more flexible for teaching anesthesia programs.
During the next two months, ASA will continue to lobby for the only truly flexible and workable policy for anesthesiology: 100% of the Medicare fee for each of two overlapping procedures involving resident physicians.
Our efforts on the teaching rule will not be without opposition and therefore your personal letter is more critical than ever. We have learned that the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) has launched a fundraising campaign designed around blocking ASAs continued progress on this important issue. The campaign, cynically organized in conjunction with the CRNA-PAC -- the anesthesia nurses political fundraising arm -- asks nurses to contact CMS to oppose any change to the rule. They argue that correcting the anesthesiology teaching rule will result in CRNA Education Cuts. While this is simply not true, anesthesiology cannot be distracted by the nurses political fundraising effort.
Please visit the ASA Web Site at
http://www.asahq.org/news/cmsproposal082405.htm.
There you will find additional information about the teaching rule, a sample letter to send to CMS via their e-comment Web Site, and a link to another Web Site through which you can contact your local Member of Congress and Senator. Please use the Web Site today and be sure to share it with all your colleagues, as well.
Thank you.
Eugene P. Sinclair, M.D. Orin F. Guidry, M.D. Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D.
ASA President ASA President-Elect ASA First Vice-President
Dear Anesthesiology hopeful and Resident Colleagues,
By now you should have received the request below from the ASA leadership asking you to urge CMS to fix the critically inequitable Medicare/Medicaid anesthesiology teaching reimbursement policy that essentially reduces M/M reimbursement to academic programs by 50% and is crippling anesthesiology training programs across the U.S. The need for correction of this problem is so obvious, and the funding needed for this such a miniscule part of the Federal budget, that the lack of ASA progress on this issue can only be due to behind-the-scenes obstruction. I have attached below the notice the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists is distributing to its membership, asking them to request CMS to NOT correct the anesthesiology teaching reimbursement problem. You may be able to deduce the motives behind AANAs opposition to the ASAs position. This is not a political issue, but it is critical public health policy issue because of the adverse impact it has upon the shortage of anesthesiologists and the viability of anesthesiology residency programs. The Medicare/Medicaid anesthesiology teaching reimbursement issue has absolutely nothing to do with anesthesia nurse education.
With public health policy in mind, this is an issue that EVERY academic anesthesiologist, and anesthesiology resident and fellow, should feel compelled to engage on. Please take the time, certainly less than 5 minutes, to utilize the ASA website below to provide your comments to your congressional delegation on this issue. You can be confident that AANA members are doing same. We must fix this problem.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue.
Thanks in advance for your help!
"Dear Colleague:
We are writing to ask for your assistance in our efforts to fix the flawed Medicare anesthesiology teaching payment rule. Please take a few moments out of your day to visit our easy-to-use Web Site at http://www.asahq.org/news/cmsproposal082405.htm to make your voice heard on this important issue.
As you may know, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) did not correct the anesthesia teaching payment policy in the proposed rule changes for the 2006 Medicare Fee Schedule. However, in the same rule, CMS expressed a continued willingness to consider changes to the policy and specifically asked for comments suggesting improvements that would allow it to be more flexible for teaching anesthesia programs.
During the next two months, ASA will continue to lobby for the only truly flexible and workable policy for anesthesiology: 100% of the Medicare fee for each of two overlapping procedures involving resident physicians.
Our efforts on the teaching rule will not be without opposition and therefore your personal letter is more critical than ever. We have learned that the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) has launched a fundraising campaign designed around blocking ASAs continued progress on this important issue. The campaign, cynically organized in conjunction with the CRNA-PAC -- the anesthesia nurses political fundraising arm -- asks nurses to contact CMS to oppose any change to the rule. They argue that correcting the anesthesiology teaching rule will result in CRNA Education Cuts. While this is simply not true, anesthesiology cannot be distracted by the nurses political fundraising effort.
Please visit the ASA Web Site at
http://www.asahq.org/news/cmsproposal082405.htm.
There you will find additional information about the teaching rule, a sample letter to send to CMS via their e-comment Web Site, and a link to another Web Site through which you can contact your local Member of Congress and Senator. Please use the Web Site today and be sure to share it with all your colleagues, as well.
Thank you.
Eugene P. Sinclair, M.D. Orin F. Guidry, M.D. Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D.
ASA President ASA President-Elect ASA First Vice-President
