Cancel Medicare Cuts
With only a handful of legislative days left in the year, the current Medicare payment system remains on an unsustainable path and headed towards disaster for America’s patients and physicians if nothing is done.
Congress must pass legislation before January 1st to cancel Medicare cuts threatening patients and physicians alike, potentially denying care for those who need it most.
Here We Go Again…
In 2021, physicians faced a perfect storm of Medicare payment cuts by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would have resulted in a 9.75 percent cut to some physicians. These cuts, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2022, would have severely impeded patient access to care due to the forced closure of physician practices and put further strain on those that remained open during an ongoing pandemic. With the help of physician advocates across the country, the American Medical Association was able to successfully work with Washington to pass legislation averting the cuts in December.
Severe Consequences
Unfortunately, history is repeating itself and physicians are facing another portfolio of cuts scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2023. Once again, looming threats remain for physician practices and patient access to care.
But the Immediate Solution is Clear
Washington should work with the physician community to address the longer-term systemic problems with the Medicare physician payment system, but in the near-term immediate steps must be taken to preserve patient access and help physician practices before it’s too late. Specifically, Congress must:
- Extend the Congressionally enacted 3 percent temporary increase in the Medicare physician fee schedule
- Provide relief for an additional 1.5 percent budget neutrality cut that is planned for 2023
- End the statutory annual freeze and provide an inflation-based update for the coming year
- Waive the 4 percent PAYGO sequester necessitated by passage of legislation unrelated to Medicare
Both patients and physicians are urging their representatives in Washington to join the bipartisan effort to stop the cuts. The clock is ticking – act now to cancel Medicare cuts.