Medicare Payment – 2.8% Cut on the Horizon / Working Toward a Fix
On Friday, November 1st, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued its final rule on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which includes a 2.8% cut in Medicare physician payment. The payment reduction is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2025.
News of the potential cut was announced mid-year and the North Carolina Medical Society, along with our medical/specialty society partners, has been advocating since that notice for a fix to the anticipated cut. That work will continue in earnest as we approach year-end.
If the payment cut goes into effect, physicians will be facing a fifth year in a row of declining payments while medical practice costs continue to rise. Our message: This is unsustainable, and practices are at the breaking point as they strive to meet Medicare patients’ needs. Practice viability hangs in the balance and shifting patient mix to offset another payment reduction is not an option for many.
A Fix on the Horizon
Fortunately, our messages are being heard on Capitol Hill and a bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, has introduced legislation to avert the 2.8% cut (H.R. 10073) and to add a positive payment adjustment to help physicians and medical practices absorb next year’s projected 3.6% increase in the medical practice operational cost.
Congress will be headed back to Washington after this week’s election and a fix for Medicare physician payment cut will continue to be our priority during their home-stretch session. Our hope is that a fix won’t be a last-minute rescue as the 2024 clock winds down.
You can help in this effort. Please use this LINK that the AMA posted to send your members of Congress a message stressing another cut in Medicare physician payment is unsustainable. You may have received similar requests from our partner organizations, such as national specialty societies, and we encourage you to use those channels for communicating your concerns as well.
We are also collecting statements and practice profiles from across the state to help in our effort to convey the impact of Medicare payment cuts on practices and access to care for patients. Please email your submissions to be included as examples we can share with our members of Congress.
Thank you. Your engagement matters.
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