MMA Signs AMA Letter Urging Congress to Support New Medicare Bill

January 18, 2024

The MMA joined all state medical societies and dozens of specialty societies in signing an AMA letter that urges Congress to pass a bipartisan bill that would eliminate a 3.37% Medicare cut for physicians that took effect on January 1. The AMA sent the letter to the majority and minority leaders of both chambers on January 17. 

The MMA continues to work with the AMA to encourage Minnesota members of Congress to co-sponsor the bill. Currently, Representatives Greg Murphy (R-NC), Danny Davis (D-IL), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), and Michael Burgess (R-TX) have signed on to H.R. 6683, the “Preserving Seniors’ Access to Physicians Act of 2023.” 

In a letter to Minnesota’s Congressional delegation, MMA President Laurel Ries, MD, encouraged bipartisan support for the bill. “Physicians are the only class of providers that do not receive an annual inflationary increase in Medicare payments,” Ries said. “While the relief offered in H.R 6683 does not fully compensate for decades of inadequate Medicare payments to physicians, it is a critical step to preserve access to care and signal to physicians that Congress is not willing to add insult to injury.”  

The MMA will continue to inform its members on the movement of this legislation. If you have any questions, please contact Adrian Uphoff, MMA health policy analyst.