The 21% Medicare and physician payment cut that had been scheduled to take effect January 1 has been delayed until March 1, giving us a short window of opportunity to persuade the U.S. Senate to do the right thing and permanently repeal Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula.

For too many years, physicians have been threatened with huge cuts in Medicare payments, only for Congress to act at the last minute with a temporary reprieve that grows the problem and increases the cost of a permanent solution. Congress created the SGR mess and only it can fix the problem. Continuing this game of "kick the can" harms the stability and security of the entire Medicare system and the millions of seniors it is intended to serve. Senators need to hear directly from America's physicians on this issue.

ACTION REQUIRED
Tell your Senators to repeal the SGR. Here's how:

* Call 1-800-833-6354 to automatically be connected to your two Senators. Urge them to repeal the SGR and create a permanent fix. Go to http://capwiz.com/aaem/callalert/index.tt?alertid=14610031 for talking points.

* Or send an e-mail urging your Senators to repeal the SGR by going to AAEM's Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/aaem/home/.