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ER Docs Ask Hill for Help (05/07/2007)
Emergency physicians asked Congress Wednesday to pass legislation they said was needed to help save the nation’s ailing emergency rooms.
Rising numbers of uninsured patients seeking care, a shortage of on-call medical specialists and long waits for treatment that result in patients spending hours in hospital hallways waiting for help are putting a heavy strain on emergency rooms across the country and Congress must act to help ease that burden, physicians and lawmakers said at a news conference.
"Every person in this country is a heartbeat away" from needing emergency room care, said Brian Keaton, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. The added pressure of preparing for a terrorist attack, flu pandemic or other unexpected emergencies creates even more pressure on the ER system, Keaton and other speakers said.
Reps. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said they were reintroducing legislation they sponsored in the 109th Congress that would authorize an additional 10 percent Medicare payment to physicians who provide care in ERs or post-stabilization services elsewhere in the hospital that are related to an emergency medical condition.
The measure, which was to be introduced Wednesday, also would create a commission to examine issues such as ER crowding, the availability of on-call specialists and medical liability issues that impede delivery of emergency medical services. This year’s version does not include language in last year’s bill that would have required an uninsured person who wanted to sue a physician for medical malpractice to do so under the Public Health Service Act.
While the bill has not yet been scored by the Congressional Budget Office, the lawmakers said that reallocating the current funds spend on health care could help pay for the measure. “We have more than enough money. It is a question of priorities,” Sessions said.
Physicians supporting the bill said higher Medicare reimbursement is necessary to help offset the costs of uninsured patients who often seek care in ERs. While physicians on average incur $12,000 in uncompensated care each year, for emergency physicians that figure is $140,000, said Robert C. Solomon, a board member of the emergency physicians’ group.
National "Report Card" On Emergency Medical Care
- Mary Agnes Carey, CQ HealthBeat Associate Editor
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