Physician legislators are circulating a letter asking their colleagues in Congress to address decreasing Medicare reimbursements.
Here are five things to know about the letter:
1. The letter was not dated and was unsigned at the time of release, but a Sept. 27 follow-up release by the American College of Radiologists indicated that the letter was created by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD, and Jimmy Panetta, with the support of their colleagues Greg Murphy, MD, Raul Ruiz, MD, Larry Bucshon, MD, Kim Schrier, MD, John Joyce, MD and Ami Bera, MD.
2. The letter urges Congress to "expeditiously pass legislative fixes" to continued cuts to Medicare payments. In July, the Biden administration passed the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, which included a 2.8% payment cut.
3. This is the fifth consecutive year that CMS issued a fee schedule that lowers payments to physicians and other clinicians.
4. The letter contends that the continued cuts have jeopardized independent physicians and practices, particularly for underserved and rural areas.
"The continued cuts have forced medical groups and integrated systems of care to make difficult choices, such as imposing hiring freezes, delaying system improvements, delaying implementation of care model changes including transitions to value-based care systems, and possibly eliminating services," the letter reads.
5. The letter specifically asks for legislation that includes:
- An annual inflationary update to MPFS budget neutrality requirements, a raise in the current MPSF budget neutrality threshold to be reflective of 2024 inflation
- A requirement for CMS to cross-check utilization assumptions associated with a "narrow set of newly unbundled codes.="
- A mandate for CMS to review key elements of practice expenses at least once every five years
- A limit to changes in the MPFS conversion factor to no more than 2.5% in any given year.