Congress must act now to stop the proposed 2025 physician payment cut and add an inflation-based update to maintain patient access to Medicare.

Another “lame duck” political season is upon us, and Congress has the critical opportunity to pass a fix to Medicare’s physician reimbursement system, addressing the automatic cut in payment to physicians that goes into effect on January 1st.

During its lame duck session, Congress can begin the process of fixing Medicare by preventing a further automatic payment cut to physicians on January 1st.

In a sign of swelling support, 41 senators say the Senate must deal with the pending cuts during the lame duck.

Everything about running a medical practice has been getting more expensive, especially in the last few years — salaries are up, rent is up, equipment and office supplies are up.

Doctors will likely get paid less next year for treating Tennessee’s 1.4 million Medicare beneficiaries. Unless Congress steps in to force a change, doctors will see a nearly 3% cut in their pay.

Indiana physicians fight alongside their patients daily to ensure Hoosiers have access to quality health care. Yet that access is increasingly jeopardized by decades of inaction on fixing a broken Medicare payment system that threatens the ability of many independent practices to keep their doors open.

Before lawmakers finish business for the year, they must also address some of the serious issues Americans are facing with our health care system.

High labor costs remain an ongoing problem threatening providers’ bottom lines. One key reason for this is that payers, including Medicare, have failed to ensure that their physician reimbursement rates keep up with the pace of inflation.