Physicians' strategy for lobbying Congress this year should focus on influencing the wording of regulations, not on getting laws enacted, a member of Congress said at the American Medical Association's (AMA) annual advocacy meeting.
"If I were you, one thing I'd be doing is not worrying about big legislation passing Congress," Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) told the AMA members assembled at a hotel here. Instead, "I'd be getting to know Andy [Slavitt, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)] very, very well," especially since Slavitt's agency will be busy implementing the new physician payment system that will replace the much-maligned sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
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