Nearly 43% of medical groups expect to freeze hiring and delay population health initiatives if planned Medicare pay cuts move forward, according to new survey findings released Tuesday.
Another 37% said they would likely eliminate services while almost 20% anticipate furloughing or laying off clinical staff. The findings are part of a survey of 92 individuals representing the nation’s “leading” medical groups and integrated health systems, commissioned by the AMGA.
Providers are bracing for cuts as high as 10% in January, including a 3.75% decrease in the Medicare conversion factor, 2% sequester cut and 4% Pay-As-You-Go reduction.
“The pandemic already has inflicted a toll on healthcare organizations and patients, and we are not at the end of it,” Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, president and CEO of the organization formerly known as the American Medical Group Association, said in a statement. “It will take years for our healthcare system and our communities to recover. Providers need financial stability, not cuts, to survive in the present.”
Members of the radiology community have fought against the 3.75% decrease since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its physician fee schedule in July. The change is due to budget neutrality requirements and meant to make up for corresponding pay increases for primary care and others who deliver evaluation and management services.
The American College of Radiology has lobbied fiercely against the cuts. On Wednesday, ACR said its coalition of providers has helped convince more than half of members of Congress to sign a bipartisan letter calling on colleagues to enact legislation halting physician pay reductions. The college highlighted the leadership of physician Reps. Ami Bera, MD, and Larry Bucshon, MD, who helped lead the letter-writing campaign to extend a 3.75% positive payment adjustment set to expire Jan. 1.
AMGA—which conducted its survey in August and September—is similarly urging Congress to intervene, including canceling the conversion factor decrease. Another 22% of respondents said they would likely stop accepting new Medicare beneficiaries if the cuts occur, while 20% would stop hiring specialties dependent on fee-for-service payment.
“A Medicare reimbursement cut on top of rising costs will not enable providers to meet the growing needs of their patients. Nobody wants to be in the position of decreasing services to our communities,” Scott Hines, MD, chair of AMGA’s Public Policy Committee, said in a statement.
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.