Reserve Officers Association

Necessity for a Permanent Fix to Medicare and TRICARE Provider Fees
Resolution 10-34

WHEREAS, fees paid to TRICARE contract provided military health care physicians and other medical providers  are based on the fee structure paid to Medicare physicians and other medical providers;

WHEREAS, in 1997, Congress adopted a deficit reduction bill that included a formula to mandate a sustainable growth rate in Medicare fees; and

WHEREAS, the formula created annual cuts in Medicare fees paid to physicians and other medical providers; fees that are already 25 percent below the current marketplace; and

WHEREAS, Congress has postponed a number of scheduled reductions allowing them to accumulate to over 21 percent in additional cuts; and

WHEREAS, a number of elected officials recognize that the 1997 formula is no longer a solution, yet Congress continues to push out any true fix to the growing problem through a series of short-term postponements; and

WHEREAS, delays in passage of legislation in 2010 actually caused physician and other medical provider fees to be cut for a short period before being corrected; and

WHEREAS, the inability to stabilize the Medicare fees is encouraging physicians and other medical providers to no longer accept Medicare or TRICARE patients;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Reserve Officers Association of the United States, chartered by Congress, urge the Congress to create a permanent fix to stabilize Medicare and TRICARE fees paid to physicians and other medical providers, removing any future threat of scheduled reductions.

 Adopted by the National Council, 27 June 2010