September 4, 2008 Newsletter

 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2008   Senator Stevens Secures Permanent Increase for Medicare Payments in Alaska   For many years Alaskans have faced major challenges in finding doctors that would see them when they turned 65. Medicare payments to doctors in Alaska, especially for family doctors, cover only about 40% of the cost of seeing seniors.    In 2004, Senator Stevens was able to secure a provision increasing Medicare payment rates to Alaska doctors, but that provision expired at the end of 2006.   This summer, Senator Stevens fought to include a provision he wrote in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. Congress passed this bill into law this July, with Senator Stevens' Alaska amendment.   Senator Stevens' provision permanently increases Medicare payments to Alaska doctors who treat seniors by about 35%. It takes effect January 1, 2009, and will increase doctor payments for Medicare patients above rates paid by the State's Medicaid program, and will make Medicare payments for Alaska doctors among the highest in the nation. The legislation supported by Senator Stevens also stops a nationwide mandated 10.6 percent cut to Medicare doctor payments for 18 months.   From conversations Senator Stevens has had with Alaska doctors, it appears the new higher payment rates will encourage more primary care physicians to take on new Medicare patients and continue to see seniors already on their patient panels. He also expects that making the new, higher rates permanent will make recruitment of doctors to practice in Alaska easier. Healthcare for Military Families and Veterans Senator Stevens has ensured the Veterans Administration (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD/TRICARE) payments to Alaska doctors also accounts for the increased costs of practicing medicine in Alaska. Nationally, the VA and DOD/TRICARE programs pay doctors at rates commiserate with Medicare, creating here in Alaska the same access-to-care problems for veterans and TRICARE beneficiaries as Medicare seniors had.   Some years ago, the VA conducted a study documenting access problems to physicians for veterans in Alaska because of low payment rates. At Senator Stevens' urging, the VA adopted an Alaska-specific physician payment system that pays doctors seeing veterans significantly more than Medicare does. Also in 2007, DOD/TRICARE implemented a three-year pilot program in Alaska that pays physicians about 35 percent more than Medicare rates. Senator Stevens' Commitment Senator Stevens remains committed to helping Alaskans get access to the widest variety of health care services possible at a cost they can afford.   For more information on Medicare benefits for Alaska Seniors go to: http://www.medicare.gov   For more information on DOD/TRICARE benefits for Alaskans go to:  http://www.triwest.com/   For more information on Alaska Veterans Healthcare benefits go to: http://www1.va.gov/health/index.asp   -or-   Contact one of Senator Stevens' offices. Contact information is located to the right.		Healthcare for Military Families and Veterans Senator Stevens' Commitment Anchorage Federal Building, Room 569 222 West 7th Avenue #2 Anchorage, AK 99513 (907) 271-5915 Bethel Delegation Office 311 Willow St, Bldg 3 Bethel, AK 99559 (907) 543-1638 Fairbanks Federal Building 101 12th Avenue, Rm 206 Fairbanks, AK 99701 (907) 456-0261 Girdwood Delegation Office 118 Lindblad Ave Girdwood, AK 99587 (907) 783-3301 Juneau Delegation Office Box 21247, Federal Building, Rm. 971 Juneau, AK 99802 (907) 586-7400 Kenai Delegation Office 110 Trading Bay Rd., Ste. 105 Kenai, AK 99611 (907) 283-5808 Ketchikan Delegation Office 540 Water St., Ste. 101 Ketchikan, AK 99901 (907) 225-6880 Mat-Su Valley Delegation Office 851 East Westpoint Dr. #307 Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 376-7665 Washington 522 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-3004