Senator Arlen Specter's amendment to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act applauded

More than twenty of our nation's premiere physician organizations applaud Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) for introducing an amendment to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590). The amendment delays by one year the implementation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) decision to eliminate the use of consultation codes.

Physicians providing inpatient and outpatient consultation services play a crucial role in diagnosing and caring for patients with complex medical conditions. Consultations, used by virtually all physicians, typically occur when a physician requests an expert opinion from another physician regarding a medical condition or treatment. Just last month, CMS formally eliminated the use of consultation codes for the care of Medicare patients. Unless Congress passes this amendment before the start of the year, the change will become effective on January 1, 2010.

In a letter to Members of Congress supporting the Specter amendment, the coalition stressed that, "CMS' decision to eliminate codes for consultation will be detrimental to Medicare patients and providers because it will be implemented with little guidance to physicians, is inconsistent with efforts to promote coordinated care (for patients), and minimizes the effort involved in (physician) consultation."

The one-year delay will ensure that Medicare beneficiaries are not harmed by being unable to access the specialized care that they need, as the time will allow for the modification of existing codes or the establishment of new codes to accurately reflect the work of consultation services. Without an appropriate and accurate code structure to meet physician and patient needs, physicians will be unable to provide the specialized and complex care often required to meet the health care needs of our nation's patients.