Physicians Encouraged to Ask Their Congress Members to Support New Medicare Bill

December 14, 2023

On December 7, a bipartisan group of U.S. representatives introduced legislation that would eliminate the 3.37% Medicare cut for physicians that goes into effect on January 1.  

The MMA is working 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.”  

Recently, the Senate Finance and the House Energy and Commerce Committees passed legislation that would provide partial relief – 1.25 percent – from the Medicare cuts. The remaining committee of jurisdiction, the House Ways and Means Committee, is not expected to mark-up any legislation this month to address the issue.   

With the adjournment of the 2023 Session looming, the AMA does not expect any legislation preventing the Medicare cuts to pass Congress before the end of the year. The MMA and the AMA are urging Congress to include H.R. 6683 as part of a federal appropriations package that must be passed in mid-January to avoid a government shutdown in 2024.