For Immediate Release: June 15, 2010 

Contact:  Armi Hall, OCR, (970) 419-7140, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it         

OCR Physicians' Letter: Ask Congress
to Keep Doctors for Medicare Patients

Dear Valued Patient,

Nothing is more important to doctors than giving our patients the best possible medical care. Our Medicare patients are very important to us, and we want to continue taking care of you – that’s why we became doctors. The last thing we want to do is tell our Medicare patients that we can no longer care for them.

No matter what your opinion of the recently signed health care bill, a glaring problem still exists. Congress has repeatedly failed to come up with a fair and sustainable funding formula for paying physicians who treat seniors, members of the military, and the disabled. By putting this off for more than a decade, our national lawmakers have jeopardized Medicare and TRICARE patients’ ability to have access to the doctors they need.

You deserve to receive the care you have been promised.

The House recently passed a bill that will put a 19 month fix in place.  If the Senate does not take action, reimbursement for Medicare services will be reduced by 21.2% effective June 1, 2010.  If this cut goes into effect it will become very difficult for all of our physicians to accept new Medicare patients.  A deep cut from Medicare may cause us to limit the number of available appointments for existing Medicare patients or even to evaluate our future participation in the Medicare program.

Your voice counts.  We urge you to contact your Congressional Representatives to express your concerns about this situation. 

Senate & House Contacts for Northern Colorado:
Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), Phone: (202) 224-5941, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Phone: (202) 224-5852, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO 4th District), Phone: (202) 225-4676, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

If you live in a different area, please go to http://www.congress.org where you can easily identify your representatives by inserting your zip code in the "Get Involved" locater box in the top right hand corner. Once you insert your zip code, all of your national and local representatives are listed with their web site and contact information.

We enjoy taking care of you and your family. We hope that Congress acts in a quick, reasonable, and responsible manner to put resolution to this important issue for all Medicare patients and physicians.

Caringly,

The Physicians and Staff of the Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies

- END -