American Academy of Ophthalmology Issues Statement of Support for SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Modernization Act of 2014

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ophthalmologists are lending their support to bipartisan, bicameral legislation introduced last week in Congress to repeal the sustainable growth rate formula (SGR) used to calculate Medicare physician pay and other reforms. The American Academy of Ophthalmology, the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons, is urging lawmakers to pass H.R. 4015/S. 2000 (the SGR Repeal and Medicare Modernization Act of 2014), which would end the proliferation of temporary measures that have been enacted to stop recurring scheduled pay cuts caused by the outdated formula. Unless lawmakers act, physicians face a 24 percent Medicare pay cut on April 1.

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"This legislation represents a major milestone in physicians' nearly 10-year battle to repeal the flawed sustainable growth rate formula used to calculate Medicare reimbursement," said David W. Parke II, M.D., CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "The Academy applauds the efforts of the members of the Senate Committee on Finance, the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for their efforts in developing this bipartisan legislation. Ophthalmology joins our colleagues across medicine in strongly urging lawmakers to pass this legislation in order to protect the viability of physicians' practices and ensure beneficiaries have access to the highest quality medical and surgical care available."

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology, headquartered in San Francisco, is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons — Eye M.D.s— with more than 32,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" – ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who has the education and training to treat it all: eye diseases, infections and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more information, visit www.aao.org. The Academy's EyeSmart^® program educates the public about the importance of eye health and empowers them to preserve healthy vision. EyeSmart provides the most trusted and medically accurate information about eye diseases, conditions and injuries. OjosSanos™ is the Spanish-language version of the program. Visit www.geteyesmart.org or www.ojossanos.org  to learn more.

SOURCE American Academy of Ophthalmology

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