Federal Advocacy

The MMS works with the Massachusetts congressional delegation, national medical associations, and federal regulators to produce results for patients and physicians in Massachusetts and across the country.

• What the New Federal Sunshine Act Means to Mass. Physicians August 19, 2013

  The federal Sunshine Act require pharmaceutical and medical device companies to report all direct and indirect payments to physicians which have a value of over $10. This summary of the law also discusses its impact on a comparable Massachusetts law.
  

• Summary of H.R. 2810, 'Medicare Patient Access and Quality Improvement Act of 2013 August 8, 2013

  Summary of House legislation that would repeal the Medicare physician payment formula and replace with a new system of stable payment updates and incentives for meeting quality measures.

• Medicare SGR Repeal Advances in the House July 24, 2013

  A subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation on July 23 that would finally scrap the flawed physician payment formula for Medicare, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR).

• FAQs on the 2013 Sequestration March 29, 2013

  Facts about the federal budget sequestration, which cuts Medicare provider payments by 2% starting April 1, 2013.

• The Impact of Sequestration on Massachusetts Health Care March 1, 2013

  Overview of the estimated impact of sequestration on physician Medicare payments, and on specific health care programs in Massachusetts.

• MMS on Sequestration: 'Little Good Can Come From the Cuts March 1, 2013

  MMS statement on the start of federal budget sequestration on March 1, 2013.

• The Facts About the SGR February 5, 2013

  The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is an element of the Medicare physician payment formula that ties annual changes in payment rates to fluctuations in various economic benchmarks. There is bipartisan agreement that the formula inaccurately compensates physicians for the cost of medical practice,...

• Deadline to Request Exemption from Federal ePrescribing Penalty is Jan. 31 January 11, 2013

  Physicians who were unable to file for a Medicare ePrescribing hardship exemption by the original 2012 deadline have until Jan. 31 to avoid the 1.5 percent payment penalty in 2013.

• Medicare Rates for 2013: Implications for Practices January 4, 2013

  Following action by Congress on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, all services for Medicare patients provided after Jan. 1, 2013 will be reimbursed at 2012 rates.

• Medicare Program Extensions and Cuts in 'Fiscal Cliff' Legislation January 1, 2013

  A summary of the Medicare programs extended by HR 8, the "fiscal cliff" legislation passed by Congress on Jan. 1, 2013. - and a summary of the cuts that paid for the extensions.

• House Vote Blocks Medicare Payment Cut For One More Year January 1, 2013

  Once again displaying the brinksmanship that was its hallmark, the 112th Congress finally passed legislation to avert the “fiscal cliff” for at least two more months, and blocked a devastating 27 percent cut in physician Medicare fees for at least another year.

• Senate Bill Would Block Medicare Payment Cut January 1, 2013

  Fiscal cliff" legislation now heads to the House

• AMA to Physicians: Prepare for the Worst December 19, 2012

  AMA says that with fiscal talks at an impasse, physicians should prepare for the possibility of a 27% cut in Medicare fees taking effect on Jan. 1.

• MMS Letter to Congressional Delegation On Impending Medicare Cuts December 12, 2012

  With the year’s end in sight, and the potential start of the so-called fiscal cliff, I would like to once again reiterate how devastating the pending 27% Medicare physician payment cut would be to Medicare and Tricare patients as well as physicians in your District.

• AMA Letter Urging Congress to Avoid Sequestration Cuts December 5, 2012

  The arbitrary and formulaic sequestration approach is not the appropriate policy to attain our nation’s long-term health care goals. Congress should take a more targeted, rational approach that allows careful assessment of how to fulfill its long-term commitment to seniors, uniformed service...

• AMA Letter Urging the Preservation of Primary Care Payment Increases for Medicaid December 5, 2012

  We write to express our strong opposition to proposals that would eliminate the Medicaid primary care payment increase that was recently finalized in a final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and scheduled to be implemented on January 1. Elimination of this policy...

• The Negative Employment Impacts of the Medicare Cuts in the Budget Control Act of 2011 September 12, 2012

  A report from the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association that found up to 766,000 health care and related jobs could be lost by 2021 as a result of the 2 percent sequester of Medicare spending mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

• The Negative Employment Impacts of the Medicare Cuts in the Budget Control Act of 2011 September 12, 2012

  A study sponsored by the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association found that up to 766,000 health care and related jobs could be lost by 2021 as a result of the 2 percent sequester of Medicare spending mandated by the Budget Control Act of...

• MMS Comments on Proposed 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule September 6, 2012

  MMS comments focus on the proposed rules for the Value-Based Payment Modifier and electronic prescribing.

• Video: Massachusetts Residents Make a Moving Case for Universal Coverage June 29, 2012

  Two Massachusetts residents who benefited from universal coverage in Massachusetts speak eloquently about their experiences at a State House rally with leaders of the Massachusetts health care community.