AAOS, Physician Coalition Launch Campaign Against Senate Health Care Bill

December 16, 2009

Over this past year, we have endeavored to keep the AAOS Fellowship informed of the status of health care reform and provide ways for Fellows to remain engaged. As we all settle in for the Holiday Season, the debate in Washington continues and the need for our steadfastness has never been more apparent. The moment is upon us.

At all junctures of the health care reform debate, the AAOS worked with other physician groups and Congress to improve each piece of legislation. Despite our best efforts and those of many other physician groups, the Senate produced a reform package that we must oppose. We have outlined our objections to both Senate leadership and the public.

Because the Senate bill is in direct contradiction to many of the AAOS’ stated principles (Principles of Health Care Reform and Specialty Care, Principles of Medicare Reform, Medical Liability Reform, and Existing Government Programs), we have decided that mere opposition is not enough. We must actively and aggressively oppose this bill. Earlier today, we launched our campaign in opposition to the current Senate bill. This effort by the AAOS and others in the surgical community will combine radio ads and print ads in selected states represented by key moderate senators. The orthopaedic community is well-represented in this effort. The campaign is supported by the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, Arthroscopy Association of North America, Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America. We are proud to be working with all of our partners in the coalition. I, and others in both the AAOS and other surgical groups, will also engage the media with interviews whenever possible.

Our message is simple and clear. We, as physicians, could not agree more that reform is needed. Reform, however, must reduce costs, reduce barriers to access, and protect the patient-physician relationship and high quality specialty care. The Senate bill fails in each of these respects.

Half measures and detached commentary will not improve our ability to provide quality care. We must act and make our voices heard. The patient-physician relationship must remain the cornerstone of our health care system. This bill jeopardizes that relationship, subjects patients and physicians to further restrictions, and impedes our ability to treat patients by expanding the already over-burdensome health care bureaucracy.

As you might already have read into today’s edition of AAOS Headline News, the House of Representatives passed another short term patch to address the scheduled cuts under the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. The measure, postponing the January 1, 2010 21.5 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements, now moves to the Senate. While the AAOS continues to fight for a permanent solution, this temporary patch underscores the current volatility in Congress and the need for the AAOS to be vigilant on behalf of our patients and members.

To learn more about the media campaign and to see the ads that are now running, please visit http://physiciansunitedforpatients.org. In addition to this campaign, the AAOS Office of Government Relations will continue its direct conversations with Congress and the Administration. We will send out alerts as issues of importance arise in the legislative process. I encourage each of you to contact your senators even if they have already made up their mind on health care reform. Write Op/Eds and letters to the editors of your local papers, talk to your colleagues, and share your story. We are approaching a pivotal moment for our country’s health care system.

Thank you and Happy Holidays.

Sincerely,

Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD