Annals of Long Term Care

Following Intense Advocacy Campaign on Behalf of Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions Program Funding, President Signs Measure Restoring Funds

In a victory for older Americans, President Bush signed legislation in February that restored funding for Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions Programs, federal initiatives that train a wide array of healthcare providers to better meet the unique healthcare needs of older adults. The Senate and House had earlier approved the legislation, which was part of a $463.5 billion budgetary Continuing Resolution (CR).

The legislation earmarks $31.5 million for Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions Programs for the remainder of FY 2007, restoring funding to FY 2005 levels. Congress eliminated funds for the programs in FY 2006, with disastrous results.

Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions funds support the nation’s Geriatric Education Centers (GECs), geriatric faculty fellowships, and Geriatric Academic Career Awards (GACAs). After a year without federal funding, both GECs and fellowship programs
were at risk of closing.

The restoration of funding came in the wake of a concerted, year-and-a-half-long advocacy initiative on behalf of the programs that involved members of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP), and others committed to quality healthcare for older Americans. In record numbers, members and others joined AGS advocacy campaigns to urge lawmakers to restore funding for the programs. Please note, GECs will have to reapply for FY 2007 Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions Programs funding, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is now drafting applications for the funds and will post these on its website at http://bhpr.hrsa. gov/interdisciplinary/).

President Bush’s proposed 2008 budget would both eliminate all funding for Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions Programs next year, and make unprecedented cuts in Medicare spending that would further limit older Americans’ access to quality healthcare. AGS, ADGAP, and other concerned organizations are already advocating for continued—and increased—Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions Program funding in FY 2008 and other measures to ensure quality care to older citizens.

MedPAC Report Outlines Alternatives to the Sustainable Growth Rate But Stops Short of Recommending a Single Solution

In its long-awaited March 1 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) outlined alternatives to the controversial formula Medicare uses to calculate payments to physicians caring for beneficiaries. But the report, Assessing Alternatives to the Sustainable Growth Rate, (SGR), stopped short of recommending a particular fix.
Intended to control growth in expenditures for physicians’ services, the SGR, in essence, calls for cuts in Medicare physician fees whenever growth in these expenditures exceeds growth in Gross Domestic Product. Relying on the formula to contain costs is problematic, the report notes, because Congress regularly overrides SGR-mandated cuts in payments, providing temporary relief to physicians, but setting the stage for higher SGR-triggered cuts in subsequent years. This past December, Congress blocked a SGR-mandated 5% cut in 2007 physician payments, freezing rates at 2006 levels and offering a 1.5% bonus to physicians reporting basic quality data. The move now leaves Congress facing the prospect of an even heftier scheduled cut for 2008. President Bush’s proposed 2008 budget assumes a 10% cut in physician payments next year, though legislators have already gone on the record in opposition to the proposal.

The MedPAC report failed to recommend a specific alternative to the SGR because “significant disagreement exists within the Commission about the utility of expenditure targets,” the agency reported. Instead, it outlined two possible approaches for Congress.