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| Our Request of Congress ACTION NEEDED Please contact your Representative, and your Senators to ask for their support, including co-sponsorship, of the American Hospital Preservation Act of 2003 (S 899/HR 1710) For a draft letter to your legislators, click here. BACKGROUND As you know, Medicare indirect medical education (IME) funding has also taken a beating. On October 1, 2002, the IME factor for hospital payment was reduced from 6.5% to 5.5%. Efforts to freeze the factor at 6.5 % were not realized before the end of the 107th Congress. We have been waiting for development of an appropriate vehicle to support for reversal of this problem. On April 10 and 11, the American Hospital Preservation Act of 2003 (S 899/HR 1710) was reintroduced by Representatives Mark Foley (R-FL) and Richard Neal (D-MA) in the House, and Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) in the Senate. This legislation will maintain the IME adjustment at 6.5 percent over time. To do that, it actually raises the IME factor to 7.5 percent for one year, to recoup losses from this current year (FY03) and then would have it revert back to 6.5 percent into the future. The bill also increases the inflation update for hospitals to full market basket. If your legislators have already cosponsored the bill please write a thank you letter to them for their efforts, and ask for their continued support. To see if your Senator(s) has cosponsored the bill, click below: To see if your Representative has cosponsored the bill, click below:
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