Lawmakers continued to urge Congress to address cuts to Medicare reimbursements in a bipartisan Dear Colleague letter signed by 233 representatives Oct. 11.
Here are five things to know about the letter and related calls for Medicare reimbursement reform:
1. The Oct. 11 letter calls for blocking the 2.8% proposed cut to Medicare reimbursements for 2025 and instituting an annual update tied to the Medicare Economic Index that would reflect the increasing cost of operations amid inflation. The letter also highlighted the intensified impact of consecutive reimbursement cuts on independent and rural physicians.
2. The letter also noted issues within CMS' Merit-based Incentive Payment System, calling it "expensive and a flawed, insufficient way to measure quality and costs of care that has resulted in steep and unfair penalties."
3. The lawmakers also ask Congress to enact reforms to the Medicare reimbursement budget neutrality threshold and require CMS to cross-check utilization assumptions connected to a "narrow set of newly unbundled codes that trigger budget neutrality cuts to correct any misestimates."
4. The letter notes that some of the proposed reforms were already passed by the Energy and Commerce Committee in 2023 with "strong bipartisan support."
5. A similar letter was issued by a group of physician lawmakers in September.