As part of the AMA’s “National House Call” campaign to stop Medicare cuts, the AMA visited Florida with a warning that the state stands to lose $295 million next year and nearly $19 billion over the next nine years in federal healthcare dollars, more than any other state. As a result, Medicare beneficiaries and military families covered by TRICARE, which ties its rates to Medicare, will face great difficulty finding physicians to care for them. “Medicare payments will be cut 37% over the next nine years, while at the same time the cost of caring for patients will rise 22%,” said AMA board member Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD. “Nearly half (45%) of the physicians surveyed by the AMA say that next year’s Medicare cut will force them to either decrease or stop seeing new Medicare patients.” Consequently, Florida’s 2.9 million Medicare patients and 685,000 military families are in jeopardy of not receiving adequate care, said Lazarus. The AMA urged Florida residents to contact members of Congress to block the impending Medicare payment cuts.
