Unlike other presidential years, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden predicts that the Senate Finance Committee will tackle Medicare reform in the coming months.
“A discussion about Medicare in an election year doesn’t happen particularly often, and I credit Senator Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the committee, for being willing to have a serious discussion about this and moving it forward as far as we possibly can,” Wyden, the ranking member of the Finance Committee, told physicians attending the Oregon Medical Association annual meeting on Saturday. “There’s a pretty good chance we’ll see action even before August so stay tuned. You’re going to see a long discussion about it in the Finance Committee.”
Medicare in 2016 will not resemble the Medicare system that was created in 1965. “Medicare in 2016 is primarily about cancer and diabetes and heart disease and strokes. Both the Democrats and Republicans have missed this issue in its entirety with the Affordable Care Act debate,” he added.
Wyden also took credit for striking down the Sustainable Growth Rate Formula which attempted to corral physician costs through a volume driven, fee-for-service payment system. Calling it the longest running battle since the Trojan War, Wyden recalled his conversations with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, then the Finance Committee chair who also happened to be the youngest member of the Senate, asking himself. ”Are we going to keep jawing on this until Senator Murphy is eligible for Medicare, or are we going to get something done?”
To accelerate the move from volume-based to value-based payment, a merit-based incentive payment system will be established beginning in 2019.
In other news:
- Dr. Robert M. Orfaly is the 142nd president of the OMA, an orthopaedic surgeon at Oregon Health & Science University, where he is an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation.
- Dr. Kevin M. Reavis, a surgeon with The Oregon Clinic, is president-elect, and specializes in esophageal, foregut and bariatric surgery and is a clinical associate professor of surgery at Oregon Health & Science University.
- Dr. Charles R. Thomas, Jr., was chosen as Doctor-Citizen of the Year and is trained in both medical oncology and radiation oncology, having joined the OHSU faculty in 2005 as professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Medicine.
"Dr. Thomas walked into a radiation oncology private practice at OHSU and turned it into a premier academic department" with an international reputation, according to colleague Dr. Timur Mitin, assistant professor of radiation medicine OHSU. "His daily motto is 'We are here to serve the people, whatever it takes.”
Dr. David N. Gilbert, MD, a Portland infectious disease specialist, received the Oregon Medical Association's 2016 George E. Miller Patient Safety Award. He is chief of the infectious diseases program at Providence Portland Medical Center and a professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.
"I have always been driven by what is referred to as the multiplier effect," said Gilbert. "It has not been enough to provide quality patient care to patients. I need to teach, and simultaneously learn, with residents and students, so that the knowledge and experience accrued can be multiplied and disseminated to an ever-greater number of physicians."
Dr. Gilbert, who received his medical degree from, and spent his residency, at OHSU, is a member of numerous professional organizations, including serving as president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The OMA represents more than 8,000 physicians, physician assistants, medical and PA students.
Diane can be reached at [email protected].
