A majority of members of the House of Representatives cosigned a bipartisan letter urging House leadership to replace the 2.8% cut proposed in the FY2025 Physician Fee Schedule with an annual payment update reflective of inflationary pressures before the end of the year. This letter from 233 bipartisan members of Congress went to House leadership last week and reflects a shift from the annual fight to mitigate that year’s proposed cut to a united call for more long-lasting and impactful reform.
When inflation is factored in, Medicare physician payments plunged 20% from 2001 to 2021. Over the same time, the cost of operating a practice went up 39%. Tying Medicare physician payments to inflation would reduce the gap between the cost of providing care and the amount physicians are reimbursed for that care. Under the current system of Medicare funding, patients’ access to care is put at risk due to the insecurity faced by physician-owned practices as they contend with varying annual payments from Medicare.
The ACR has long fought for Congressional support to reform the Medicare physician payment system and thanks the 233 cosigners of this letter. We hope House leadership answers their call. As an ACR/ARP member, you can also support timely Medicare reimbursement reform by contacting your legislators today to tell them why this reform is vital to maintaining patient care.
