AMA Leaders call for Unified Front. (Medicare, Tort Reform).

SAN FRANCISCO -- Leaders of the American Medical Association urged the House of Delegates at its interim meeting to set aside differences and unite on Medicare reform and other legislative issues important to physicians.

"When medicine is split, Congress is reluctant to act," AMA President Richard Corlin said in his opening address to delegates.

Speaking against the backdrop of an enormous American flag, AMA President Dr. Corlin faced a delegation whose mood had been dampened by the aftermath of Sept. 11, plus internal woes spurred by the lawsuit of former executive vice president Dr. E. Ratcliffe Anderson Jr., and the AMA's continued struggles on Capitol Hill.

Spirits lifted considerably on Dec. 4 when Dr. Corlin announced the unanimous passage of the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act (H.R. 3391) in the House of Representatives. The bill would place limits on carriers' use of extrapolation and prepayment review and allow physicians to repay any money they owe from an audit in installments, rather than paying for it in full in 30 days.

This action "would not have happened without the cooperation of the AMA, the specialty societies, and state medical societies working together," he said.

Acting on other legislative reform issues, delegates approved a resolution that asks the AMA to work with Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to redesign the methodology used to calculate the Medicare conversion factor.

The federal government plans to cut physician Medicare payments by 5.4% for all services in January 2002. "If you practice in an environment with 50% overhead, a 5.4% cut in reimbursement means a 10.8% cut in take-home pay," he said.