Jay Rockefeller: “today I introduce the Medicare Incentive Payment Program Refinement Act of 2002. This bill makes needed and long-overdue…”

“today I introduce the Medicare Incentive Payment Program Refinement Act of 2002. This bill makes needed and long-overdue changes to the Medicare Inventive Payment Program, an initiative conceived to address the growing primary care physician shortage in some of our country's most medically underserved communities. The number of physicians needed to care for all individuals, especially our aging seniors, continues to grow in remote rural areas and in underserved urban areas. However, rising health costs and the difficulties of operating a practice in underserved communities has exacerbated the physician shortage. Although the Medicare Incentive Payment Program aims to address the financial hurdles facing physicians in needy areas, the program has failed to achieve real results. This bill will make fundamental changes to improve the program's effectiveness. Rural areas, in particular, are in need of efforts to retain primary care physicians, since the difficulties of operating a practice often drive doctors to larger areas with more resources and professional support.”