Medicare physician payment cuts are set to take effect on January 1, 2023. Continue reading to learn why many physicians are reaching out to their legislators to prevent these cuts. As members of Congress head home for their August recess, the AMA is urging physicians to contact their legislators with a two-fold message: stop the Medicare physician payment cuts scheduled for January 1, 2023, and reform the Medicare payment systems to prevent the need for such appeals every year.
“The overall goals of Medicare payment-system reform are simplicity, relevance, alignment, and predictability, both for physicians and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),” said Cynthia Brown, the AMA’s vice president of government affairs. “The problems we’re seeing arise from a system so complicated that even the Medicare agency struggles to implement it correctly.”
Leading the charge to reform Medicare pay is a key component of the AMA Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians. “You took care of the nation. It’s time for the nation to take care of you. It’s time to rebuild. And the AMA is ready.” The AMA has challenged Congress to enact systemic reforms to make Medicare work better for both physicians and patients. The AMA will continue to fight tirelessly against future cuts and all barriers to patient care.
Brown spoke during “Medicare Payment Principles—A Vision for Reform,” part of the “AMA Advocacy Insights Webinar Series.” The webinar detailed the cuts scheduled for January 1 and outlined the “Characteristics of a Rational Medicare Payment System” (PDF), developed by an AMA-led coalition of 120 state medical and national specialty societies. Physicians were encouraged to contact their legislators and were given tips and resources to guide their conversations.
History Repeats
Last year, physicians faced Medicare payment cuts totaling 9.75%, scheduled to take effect on January 1. “These cuts would’ve been untenable during normal circumstances but were beyond reckless during the public health emergency we continue to face,” said Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. “Additional work is necessary for permanent payment reform.” Congress passed legislation averting these cuts in December, a Christmastime ritual no one wants to maintain.
“We don’t want to be here asking for money every year at the end of the year—and members of Congress don’t like it,” Jason Marino, the AMA’s director of congressional affairs, said in the webinar. “We want a bridge to a permanent solution—so we have a normal, functioning system like the hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies. They don’t have to come to Congress every year.”
Physicians are now facing a “portfolio of cuts” totaling 4.5%, Marino noted. But that’s just the beginning. Coupled with 9% inflation, physicians’ Medicare payment update for 2023 is 0%. Additionally, a 5% bonus for successfully participating in an alternative payment model is expiring, and a $500 million bonus pool for Merit-based Incentive Payment System high performers is “going away,” he added. While payment rates for hospitals, nursing homes, and similar facilities are adjusted for inflation, rates for physicians are not, as shown in the AMA-developed chart below.
“That chart tells the story, and we have senators now talking about this chart—that’s how you know it’s resonating,” Marino said. “Everyone who sees that chart realizes that’s not a sustainable path.” However, there is skepticism among members of Congress that Medicare’s physician payment rates are causing patient-access problems. Physicians must tell their senators and representatives how Medicare pay uncertainties hinder giving raises to staff, buying new equipment, and investing in their practices—and how this impedes patient access.
“You want to create some empathy,” he advised. “You have to start with making a connection with your own story, what this means to you as a physician, what it means for your patients’ access, and humanize it in a way that only you can.”
Original article published on ama-assn.org