Senator Lamar Alexander called the decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to restore the medicare billing privileges for Dr. Bryan Merrick “good news for the people of McKenzie and Dr. Merrick” in a statement given to The Tennessee Star on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Alexander called on Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to hold hearings in the Senate Finance Commmittee he chairs on the Obama-era regulation that was used to revoke Dr. Merrick’s Medicare privileges in March.
“This is good news for the people of McKenzie and Dr. Merrick, and I am glad that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has resolved this situation. I especially appreciate the hard work of Representative David Kustoff to solve this problem — his efforts to fix this problem were very important to all of us,” Alexander said in the statement.
“I’m happy to hear that CMS has decided to do the right thing and allow Dr. Merrick to return his attention to his patients and the people of McKenzie,” former Congressional candidate Dr. George Flinn told The Star.
Flinn was one of many West Tennessee community leaders he advocated on behalf of Dr. Merrick after his Medicare privileges were revoked over $670 in billing errors.
In Flinn’s case, he wrote a letter to President Trump asking him to instruct CMS to amend the Obama-era regulation that had sparked the actions by CMS against Dr. Merrick.
“I think this shows what happens when the people demand results from their government. In my letter to President Trump, I asked that he intervene to ensure CMS reinstated Dr. Merrick’s reimbursement payments. So, I would especially like to thank President Trump for listening,” Flinn added.
“Former State Senator and Tennessee Democratic Party State Chairman Roy Herron credits The Star’s coverage of Dr. Bryan Merrick, the small-town West Tennessee doctor in McKenzie, Tennessee whose Medicare billing privileges were revoked in March, for playing a role in the happy resolution of that issue and the restoration of his Medicare billing privileges,” The Star reported:
“My friend and client Dr. Bryan Merrick was suffering the most egregious abuse of an individual by government that I’ve seen in my 30 years in and around government. The Tennessee Star immediately understood, explained the facts so others could understand, and I know for a fact got the attention of lawmakers in Washington,” Herron said.
“Dr. Merrick and his family and all of us are most grateful for the insights and advocacy of The Star that helped make the difference in achieving a just and right result that let Dr. Merrick continue to serve our region and the patients he loves. Thanks for defending his — and all of our — freedom,” the Dresden, Tennessee based attorney concluded.
