Congress has introduced a bill that would tie the Medicare physician pay schedule to the Medicare economic index.
The bill would establish an inflation-based update. Physician payment rates are currently facing a payment freeze that will last until 2026, as well as 2 percent Medicare pay cuts that began in January.
The introduction of the bill follows the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's recommendation to increase 2024 Medicare payments by linking it to the economic index.
The move was met with praise from the American Medical Association, which said in an April 12 blog post that the bill would "put physicians on equal footing with virtually all other health professionals and organizations paid by Medicare.".