The College of American Pathologists, American Medical Association (AMA), and more than 120 national and state medical professional organizations are urging legislative leaders to stabilize the Medicare physician payment system and stop reimbursement cuts in 2023.
In a Sept. 22 letter to congressional leadership, the organizations expressed concern with the approximate 4.5 percent reduction in the Medicare conversion factor in the proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2023.
“According to an AMA analysis of Medicare Trustees data, Medicare physician payment has been reduced by 20 percent adjusted for inflation from 2001–2021,” the organizations wrote. “The Medicare physician payment system lacks an adequate annual physician payment update, unlike those that apply to other Medicare provider payments.”
The groups urged Congress to:
- Provide relief from the -4.42 percent budget neutrality cut in Medicare physician fee scheduled payments.
- End the statutory annual pay freeze and supply an update to the Medicare Economic Index for the upcoming year.
- Extend the 5 percent Advanced Alternative Payment Model participation incentive and postpone the revenue threshold increase for five years to encourage more physicians to shift from fee-for-service to Advanced Payment Models.
- Waive the 4 percent PAYGO sequester that is also scheduled to take effect next year.
Sources:
https://www.cap.org/advocacy/latest-news-and-practice-data/september-27-2022#story3
