Following several years of consecutive Medicare physician payment cuts, an additional 2.8 percent reduction is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, further highlighting the need for long-term reforms.
The recent introduction of the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act (H.R. 10073), a bipartisan bill to stop the cut and provide physicians with a much-needed 1.8 percent payment update in 2025, is a positive sign Congress may be poised to act during the lame-duck session. The bill’s introduction comes on the heels of advocacy efforts by KMA and other state medical and specialty societies to encourage their Representatives to sign on to a “Dear Colleague” letter urging House leadership to address the broken Medicare physician payment system and provide much-needed stability for patients and physicians before the end of the year.
With only five short weeks remaining on the Congressional calendar, time is running out for H.R. 10073 to be included in a year-end legislative package. Contact your Representative and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 10073, the “Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act” as an important first step in comprehensive Medicare physician payment reform.
