October 17, 2024
Four members of Minnesota’s Congressional delegation signed a letter to House leadership last week, urging them to replace the 2.8% Medicare cut with a payment update reflective of inflationary pressures before January 1, 2025.
Angie Craig (DFL- 2nd District), Brad Finstad (R- 1st District), Michelle Fischbach (R- 7th District) and Pete Stauber (R – 8th District) signed the letter, along with 139 Democrats and 90 Republicans.
The letter, dated October 11, asks House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to “expeditiously pass legislative fixes that not only stop another damaging round of cuts to Medicare payments, but also provide greater certainty and stability for clinicians serving Medicare beneficiaries.”
"Congress must act to stop another cut to Medicare payments,” said MMA President Edwin Bogonko, MD, MBA. “Minnesota seniors deserve that action now."
Medicare payment rates have fallen by nearly 30 percent over the last 20 years. The scheduled 2.8 percent reduction represents the fifth consecutive year that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a fee schedule regulation that lowers payments to physicians and other clinicians.
See the entire letter here.
April 9, 2026
An amended piece of legislation that would exempt buprenorphine from prior authorization (PA) was heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on April 9.
April 9, 2026
On April 9, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard a bill that would require coverage for psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) services under Medical Assistance.
April 9, 2026
On April 9, the House Taxes Committee heard legislation focused on supporting the financial stability and ongoing operations of Hennepin Healthcare.