URGENT MESSAGE TO OUR PATIENTS

Dear CVA Patients, Families, and Friends,

As of January 1, 2010, Medicare funding reductions will begin to drastically alter the way you receive and pay for health care, especially cardiovascular care. If these cuts go through as planned, the providers of cardiovascular care in Central Florida expect this to have drastic and grave consequences on the care you currently receive.

Your ACCESS to care will be greatly limited and rationed:
Many cardiology practices will be forced to stop accepting Medicare patients, as many other subspecialties like Internal Medicine and Gynecology already have. A great number of cardiology practices will be forced to downsize their operation, limit or discontinuing important diagnostic services and some may even close their doors, relocating to other states, further limiting access to quality cardiology care.

The QUALITY of your care will be greatly affected:
If the current health care environment continues to be unfavorable to cardiologists, it will become more and more difficult to attract well trained, high quality cardiologist to states such as Florida that have a high percentage of Medicare patients. This has already happened with specialties such as Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Your COST of care will be dramatically INCREASED:
With limited access to outpatient diagnostic facilities, more care will be directed to hospital centers, which are paid significantly more (as much as 5 times more) than outpatient facilities for the same diagnostic studies and procedures. Those higher costs will be passed on to the patient in the form of higher co-pays and out of pocket expenses. Regardless of whether you are a Medicare patient, have traditional insurance, or have no insurance, YOU WILL BE AFFECTED by these changes. Since Medicare recipients are the majority of cardiac care patients, reductions in funding will greatly impact each practice’s ability to continue to purchase and maintain the equipment and staffing levels necessary to provide quality services.

Simply put, if we do not force Congress to rescind these Medicare cuts, your ACCESS, QUALITY and COST of cardiovascular care will be gravely affected. Since mid summer, our state’s cardiology physician community has been fighting for your rights, with a message to our elective officials, as well as to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrators – “STOP THESE CUTS”.

The voice of our patients must be heard! The time to act is now! Contact your elective officials NOW!

See sample letter here.
Find congressional email address links here.

Respectfully,

The Physicians and Staff of Cardiovascular Associates of Lake County, P.A.