MMA Urges Minnesota U.S. House Members to Fight for Medicare Payment Reform

February 6, 2025

On February 4, the MMA urged all eight members of Minnesota's U.S. House of Representatives contingent to co-sponsor HR 879, the “Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act,” which would cancel the 2.83% Medicare payment cut that became effective on January 1 and provide a 2% payment update. 

“Over the past two decades, Medicare payments have fallen by 33% when adjusted for the cost of running a practice,” the MMA request read.  “Physicians in Minnesota want to ensure that Medicare patients continue to have access to the care they need. With Medicare payments being cut for five consecutive years, it is getting harder to provide these services.” 

As part of this push, the MMA also agreed to sign on to a letter to House and Senate leadership that urges “Congress to include in the forthcoming March 2025 appropriations bill, provisions that both reverse the latest round of Medicare payment cuts and provide physicians with a meaningful payment increase that reflects ongoing inflationary pressures.” 

“The time for legislative action is now,” the letter, championed by the AMA, goes on to urge. “America’s physicians and the millions of patients we treat can no longer accept any excuses, such as an overcrowded legislative calendar, competing policy priorities, or an inability to achieve bipartisan consensus, as reasons for not including provisions that reverse the latest round of cuts and provide a crucial payment update in the next appropriations package.” 

Physicians can contact their Congressmember to urge action to stop this cut by clicking on this link - Grassroots Action.