A bipartisan group of 10 House members on Jan. 31 introduced a bill to stop the 2.83% Medicare physician pay cut this year and provide a 2% pay bump to stabilize physician practices and protect patients’ access to care.
If passed, effective April 1, the “Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act,” would prospectively cancel the 2.83% cut that took effect Jan 1. Similar legislation saw bipartisan, bicameral support in December, but Congress failed to address the issue during the lame-duck session.
The American Medical Association said it strongly supports the bill and will work with members to include it in upcoming legislation to fund the federal government beyond the March 14th statutory deadline.
“This legislation would begin to roll back the cuts physician practices have faced over the last four years while we all have experienced high inflation,” AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, said in a Jan. 31 news release. “Patient access to care and practice sustainability are not partisan or geographical issues. It’s an urgent national issue that demands immediate attention from Congress.”
Physicians’ Medicare pay rates have dropped 33% over 20 years, and Congress has ignored inflation adjustments, prior authorization reforms and rising care costs, according to the AMA.
“The clock is ticking. The continuing resolution expires on March 14,” Dr. Scott said. “Physicians are healers first, but we are asking them to become vocal advocates for their patients over the next 45 days by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to include this bill in the next spending package,” Dr. Scott said.
Source Attribution:
This article was written by Alan Condon and originally published by Becker’s Healthcare on Friday, January 31st, 2025. It has been republished/adapted with permission. You can read the original article [here].
