| Hello John, Good news about health care out of Washington! I know, it’s a shock and probably sounds too good to be true. But with new leadership in Washington, D.C., we’re starting to see a glimmer of hope that we can tackle our out-of-control health care costs. The new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Brett Guthrie, recently told Politico that his committee will be considering changes to Medicare’s unfair and costly site-neutral payment policy — a change we’ve been pushing for some time (with your help). Here’s why that is important: Right now, Medicare pays hospitals more for the exact same service than it pays independent medical practices. This includes things like mammograms, chemotherapy, cardiac imaging, and colonoscopies. Depending on the specific procedure, hospitals can sometimes rake in two to three times what independent doctors get. That’s not just ridiculous. It’s a colossal waste of money. Let’s break it down: This policy not only weakens Medicare financially, but also leads to more hospital consolidation as hospitals buy up independent practices to capture these higher payments from Medicare. And when that happens, costs go up for everyone — not just those on Medicare. If Congress tells Medicare to pay hospital doctors the same as independent doctors, i.e., make Medicare payments “site-neutral,” we could save a boatload and make it easier to extend the 2017 tax cuts that will expire at the end of the year. According to the nonpartisan Citizens for a Responsible Federal Budget, adopting site-neutral payments would: - reduce total national health expenditures by up to $458 billion
- reduce commercial premiums by up to $386 billion
- reduce patient cost-sharing by $73 billion
- reduce the federal budget deficit by up to $117 billion
Here’s the problem: None of this is certain, and you can be sure the hospitals will be out in force to stop it. Congress will need a nudge — OK, a shove — from the American people to ensure this gets done. Will you contact your elected officials and urge them to support site-neutral payments for Medicare? | 
