Manufactured out of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the goal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) was to limit the growth in Medicare spending to keep it in line with inflation. Under the SGR, if overall physician payment costs exceeded target expenditures, a cut to Medicare physician payment was triggered.
Following AMA advocacy in leading the charge to reform the Medicare payment system, a bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would provide a 4.7% payment update in 2025.
Congress should implement an annual, inflation-based payment update as part of the Medicare payment system for doctors, two rheumatologists write.
This Advocacy Insights webinar dives into the latest AMA efforts on Medicare physician payment reform: what’s happening on Capitol Hill, how the AMA’s grassroots campaign is raising the volume and what to expect on the regulatory side.
Current law is not only failing the hundreds of thousands of doctors who participate in Medicare, but also the nearly 67 million senior and disabled Americans who depend on the program for continued access to high-quality medical care.
In March, Congress finally passed the delayed appropriations package which included a 1.68% reduction to the 3.37% Medicare physician payment cut that went into effect on January 1. While that relief was welcomed, it is not enough.
Inadequate payments could force some docs to stop accepting Medicare patients, commission warns.
Congressional activity around reforming how Medicare pays doctors is picking up steam this year — though the cost and tight legislative calendar make a major overhaul unlikely, sources say. Action could both avert the annual rite of reversing scheduled Medicare cuts to physician pay and kick start long-running efforts to more closely tie compensation to quality care.
Regular inflation updates and getting rid of MIPS are among ideas discussed in a Senate Finance Committee white paper on problems with physician payment under the Medicare fee-for-service program.
The Senate Finance Committee released a white paper proposing Medicare adjust doctor reimbursement to account for inflation, a key goal for physician lobbies.
In the Medicare Trustees Report, the trustees warned that the program faces “challenges,” notably that physician payments are not based on underlying economic conditions—such as inflation—and are not expected to keep pace with the cost of practicing medicine.
From Baker County to Yamhill, Oregon is facing a serious shortage of doctors. With dozens of federally-designated Health Professional Shortage Areas across the state, we need more doctors to help increase Oregonians’ access to treatment and improve their health.
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.