The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommended Medicare continue its physician fee payment freeze despite ongoing financial pressure from the pandemic.
MedPAC, which advises Congress on Medicare payments to healthcare providers and health plans, said its analysis showed professional service payments are adequate and relief funds provided by Congress in the last two years should have covered the lost volume during the pandemic. The report also stated case volume and physician revenue are expected to rebound this year, and potentially reach higher rates as physicians address a backlog of cases.
So it's recommending that CMS continue physician fee schedule payments for 2023 as planned, which include a pay freeze .
The American Medical Association disagrees with this recommendation and sent a letter March 15 to congressional leaders warning against following MedPAC's recommendation. The AMA argued physicians will be more likely to consider leaving medical practice if the Medicare physician fee schedule spending isn't revised.
Adjusting for inflation over the last 20 years, the Medicare physician fee schedule reduced physician pay by 20 percent. The 2022 inflationary spike is likely to widen that gap, according to the AMA's analysis.
CMS takes MedPAC's recommendations into consideration when developing the 2023 physician fee schedule. A proposed draft of the fee schedule is scheduled for release midyear.