Health Care Reform

The staff and physicians have been placed in the uncomfortable position of asking for your assistance. As you know, we are facing unprecedented challenges in the health care industry.  This year's proposed Weiner-Braley Amendment to HR3200 will negatively affect our practice if allowed to pass. We face reimbursement cuts of 15 - 25 percent, which may force us to make difficult business decisions dramatically reducing the services we offer.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are proposing reforms that will cost taxpayers MORE money instead of saving it, at the expense of you, the patient.  Whether you are a Medicare patient or have other insurance coverage, if these proposals pass, we will all be dramatically impacted.

Patients may be forced to choose to use local hospitals for their cardiology services because of the reimbursement payments.  Patients will face much higher out-of-pocket co-pays and even longer wait times for appointments, tests and testing results.  Additionally, services delivered in the hospital setting cost taxpayers MUCH MORE than the same services provided in the physician's office.

If you are as concerned as we are about your continued access to cardiac care, please contact your senators and representatives today to let them know of your concerns. 

You must act quickly - the deadline to express your concerns is August 31.  To help facilitate this, we and other private practice cardiologists have created a website to make it easy for patients to email their elected officials.  You must complete a small number of fields, including your home and email addresses.

LINK TO CONTACT CONGRESS: http://www.capwiz.com/cardiologycaa/issues/alert/?alertid=13832916&type=CO 

We want the very best for our patients.  We hope you will help by contacting Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) via this web link, letting them know that continued access to cardiology services is of critical importance to you.

Thank you from the Physicians at The Heart & Vascular Institute of Florida