More than 245 bipartisan members of Congress are urging House leaders to quash planned Medicare cuts set to hit radiology and other physician specialties.
Let by MD Reps. Ami Bera, D-Calif., and Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., lawmakers acknowledged the need for change in the federal payment program to incentivize value-based care. But at the same time, Medicare has failed to keep pace with inflation, and providers are still struggling from the impact of COVID-19.
Representatives said they support a planned pay increase for physicians delivering primary care and other office-based services. But due to budget neutrality requirements, this necessitates ill-timed cuts for other physicians, the group noted.
“As Congress begins the complex process of identifying and considering potential long-term reforms, we must also create stability by addressing the immediate payment cuts facing healthcare professionals. These cuts will strain our healthcare system and jeopardize patient access to medically necessary services,” representatives wrote to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday, Oct. 14. “We must ensure that any changes do not result in unintended consequences for specialty care,” they added later.
Last year’s fee schedule originally included a similar pay decrease, but lawmakers mitigated that Medicare reduction with a 3.75% increase coupled with pausing sequestration cuts. Bera, Bucshon and colleagues are urging the House to extend this pay bump, which will expire Jan. 1 without congressional intervention.
“We must act before the end of the year to avert the imminent cuts, including extending the 3.75% payment adjustment, and provide continued stability for physicians and other healthcare professionals,” lawmakers wrote. “Otherwise, the profound exhaustion from the pandemic combined with the stress of uncertainty in payments may lead to further retirements, office closures, or reduced staffing, ultimately limiting patient access to care.”
Hundreds of radiologists and other physicians flooded Washington with pleas to avoid the Medicare changes in September. Earlier this week, the AMGA said 43% of surveyed medical groups planned to freeze hiring and delay population health initiatives if Congress did not respond. The American College of Radiology also highlighted the lawmakers’ letter-writing efforts in a Wednesday news update.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.