
Physicians take fight for Medicare payment reform to Capitol Hill
Bipartisan support for Medicare reform is building in Congress, as physicians witnessed firsthand at the 2025 AMA National Advocacy Conference.
Rural Americans — including those in West Texas and southeast New Mexico — face barriers to care, with many already having to drive hours to receive the treatments they need because of a shortage of specialists and primary care physicians.
Washington County is home to approximately 37,000 Medicare recipients, many with very limited access to doctors and hospitals able to serve them in more rural areas like North Plains. For this reason, Congress needs to fix Medicare’s broken physician payment system.
Now is the time for Congress and the new administration to work together to address a broad range of issues impacting access to critical services for patients, especially those with chronic conditions.
Endorsing a stabilizing approach to Medicare reform, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended that Congress link next year’s physician payment update to the growth in the cost of providing care. The recommendation comes just as Congress failed to prevent this year’s 2.8 percent cut.
Patients in rural areas are already at higher risk for poor health outcomes. Squeezing the physician practices that care for them is not the answer.
Seniors pay into Medicare their entire working lives. When they become a Medicare patient, they expect access to timely care and rely on their physicians for checkups and managing health challenges. The 2.83 percent cut to physician payments that took effect on January 1 threatens that care.
Physicians are again shortchanged in a spending bill proposal to avert a government shutdown. AMA President, Dr. Bruce A. Scott, says more practices will close and Medicare patients will pay the price.
Congress is poised to deliver physicians their fifth consecutive Medicare pay cut. However, House Republican leadership has assured the GOP Doctors Caucus that it will block these physician payment reductions in the upcoming budget reconciliation process.
Congress is hurtling toward a deadline when they must approve a spending package or face a government shutdown. The current continuing resolution left in place a physician pay cut from Jan. 1, despite physician hopes lawmakers would reverse it.
We’re dedicated to raising awareness of Medicare physician payment system problems so that we can work towards solutions that protect physician practices and patients’ access to care. It’s vital that patients and physicians use their voices to advocate for change.
Click the button below to learn about the various ways to get involved in the fight to Fix Medicare Now.