August 11, 2022
The MMA is once again urging Congress to take action before the end of the year to reform the Medicare payment system and stop the cycle of constant physician payment cuts.
In 2021, physicians rallied to convince Congress to stop a scheduled 9.75 percent cut to physician payments. Yet, the payment formula in Medicare still does not keep up with medical inflation.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a rule related to physician payments that expands payments for behavioral health services but provides a 0% payment update and reduces the Medicare conversion factor by 4.5%. This, combined with the sunset of the temporary 3% payment increase adopted by Congress, will result in most physicians seeing their Medicare payment amount decrease this year.
“It is time for Congress to act to stop this annual cycle of threatened cuts that are delayed in last-minute Congressional actions,” said MMA President Randy Rice, MD. “Congress needs to pass a long-term solution to the systemic problems that are in the current Medicare physician payment formula and provide the stability needed for physician practices.”
The MMA is working with the AMA to:
extend the Congressionally enacted 3% temporary increase to avoid cuts caused by the “budget neutrality” requirements
replace the current formula with one that provides inflation-based updates for at least the next two years, and
waive requirements referred to as “PAYGO” that result in cuts to payments caused when new, unrelated expansions are added.
“These cuts can be stopped by Congress, but they need to hear from physicians,” Rice said. “They need to hear that another round of Medicare cuts will effect the patients that we serve.”
Contact your Congress members by clicking here and sending them a personal email encouraging them to act now.
May 29, 2025
As the Legislature works to complete its work on the state’s two-year budget, another deadline is looming. Legislators are required to pass a balanced budget before the end of the fiscal year—June 30, 2025. If they don’t meet that deadline, the state will begin a partial shutdown.
May 29, 2025
Registration has opened for the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Reflection and Engagement event, featuring best-selling author Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD.
May 29, 2025
The AMA is encouraging physicians to contact their U.S. senators and urge them to revise the reconciliation bill passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives. While the bill includes language that would stabilize Medicare physician payments, it also threatens to cripple Medicaid and CHIP.