Minnesota’s Delegation on Recess; Now is a Great Time to Connect

August 25, 2022

The halls of Congress have emptied as the August recess is in full swing in the nation's Capital. As members head home, now is the perfect time to engage with Minnesota’s congressional delegation about upcoming issues, such as looming cuts to physician Medicare payments and working to fix the cumbersome prior authorization (PA) process. 

Late last year, physician advocates from across the country united to successfully persuade Congress to delay a “perfect storm” of Medicare payment cuts that, if enacted, would have severely impeded patient access to care. If Congress does not act again by the end of the year, the cuts will take effect in 2023 and cause serious disruption to physician practices.   

The AMA is advocating to: 

• Extend the Congressionally enacted 3% temporary increase in the Medicare physician fee schedule 

• Provide relief for an additional 1.5% budget neutrality cut that is planned for 2023 

• End the statutory annual freeze and provide an inflation-based update for the coming year 

• Waive the 4% PAYGO sequester necessitated by passage of legislation unrelated to Medicare. 

Additionally, sweeping prior authorization legislation is taking shape in D.C. For reference, physicians complete an average of 41 prior authorizations per week. This amounts to roughly 13 hours weekly that physicians and their staff must spend on administrative work instead of seeing and treating patients.  

The AMA argues the criteria used for PAs are unclear. Physicians rarely know at the point-of-care if the prescribed treatment requires prior authorization, only to find out later when a patient's access is delayed or denied. This system can cause unnecessary tension in the physician-patient relationship, disrupt patient care, and negatively impacts physician mental health and wellbeing. 

Congress has already taken steps to address this by introducing the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 8487), which would require Medicare Advantage plans to adopt transparent PA programs that adhere to evidence-based medical guidelines and hold plans accountable for making timely PA determinations and providing rationales for denials. The AMA is encouraging physicians to reach out to their lawmakers and ask them to support these important legislative efforts. 

Visit physiciansgrassrootsnetwork.org or for updated resources including policy points and materials, information about reaching out to your lawmaker, and other information such as public events for your lawmaker.