On March 1, 2010, Nevada physicians face an across-the-board cut of 21.2% if they treat Medicare patients. On average, this year’s cuts will cost Nevada physicians $18,000 each. There are 23,172 Nevada employees, 280,738 Nevada Medicare patients and 99,641 Nevada TRICARE patients who will be hurt if these cuts aren’t stopped. The reason for the cuts is that in 1999, Congress passed a flawed payment update formula (the so-called “sustainable growth rate” or SGR). Since 2002, virtually every member of Congress has repeatedly promised & repeatedly failed to fix the flawed system. By repealing the SGR formula, Congress can avert these cuts. SGR repeal would prevent a loss of $90 million in 2010 for the care of seniors and disabled patients in Nevada.

According to the American Medical Association, Nevadans have to worry about issues of access & choice of physicians more than residents in most other States:13.3% of the State’s residents live in a designated primary care shortage area; 13.9% report that they could not see a doctor in the last 12 months due to cost; there are 293 emergency department visits per 1,000 population in the State; and, 21% of the State’sMedicare population age 65 & over live below 150% of the federal poverty level. Compared to the rest of the country, Nevada, at 17 practicing physicians per 1,000 beneficiaries, has a below-average ratio of physicians to Medicare beneficiaries, and, at 190 practicing physicians per 100,000 population has a below-average physician-to population ratio (ranking 47th in the nation) even before the cuts take effect. 41% of Nevada’s practicing physicians are over age 50, an age at which surveys have shown many physicians consider reducing their patient care activities.

E-mail, call, write or talk to the Nevada Congressional delegation. Ask them tocommit to stopping the cuts and to fix the formula. Nevadans need the fix.

Nevada House Delegation Contact Info

Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV 1st) http://berkley.house.gov/

E-mail: http://berkley.house.gov/contact/email.html

Representative Dean Heller (R-NV 2nd) http://heller.house.gov/  

E-mail: http://heller.house.gov/zipauth.shtml /

Phone: (202) 225-6155 Fax: (202) 225-5679

Rep Dina Titus (D-NV 3rd) http://titus.house.gov/index.html

https://forms.house.gov/titus/contact-form.shtml

Phone: 202-225-3252 Fax: 202-225-2185

Nevada Senate Delegation Contact Info

U.S. Senator Harry Reid U.S. www.senate.gov/~reid

E-mail: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

Phone: 202-224-3452 Fax: 202-224-7327

Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-736-7343

Senator John Ensign http://ensign.senate.gov/

Phone: 202-224-6244 Fax: 202-228-2193