CMS released its 2025 physician payment rule, which includes a 2.83% conversion factor decrease from 2024.
Here are four comments from physician advocacy groups about pay cuts:
American Academy of Family Physicians
“Inadequate Medicare payment rates have created untenable barriers to care for patients and threaten physician practices. While the final 2025 Medicare physician fee schedule aims to strengthen primary care, the underlying deterioration of physician payments negates the impact of these important investments," Jen Brull, MD, president of AAFP, said in a statement. "Sadly, this is the fifth year in a row congressional intervention will be needed to preserve payment. The consequence of this year’s 2.8% reduction is dire, putting practices at risk, exacerbating physician workforce shortages and preventing patients from accessing primary care."
American Medical Association
"To put it bluntly, Medicare plans to pay us less while costs go up," American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, said in a statement. "You don't have to be an economist to know that is an unsustainable trend, though one that has been going on for decades. For physician practices operating on small margins already, this means it is harder to acquire new equipment, harder to retain staff, harder to take on new Medicare patients, and harder to keep the doors open, particularly in rural and underserved areas."
AMGA
"Five years of Medicare cuts is going to catch up with us," Jerry Penso, MD, president and CEO of AMGA, said in a statement. "To keep the doors open, AMGA members are going to need to cut staff and reduce access to care for Medicare patients. The only real question is if Congress will come together to prevent this."
Medical Group Management Association
"CMS and Congress have once again overlooked the sobering financial realities facing our nation's medical practices, finalizing a 2.83% reduction to the 2025 Medicare conversion factor, further increasing the gap between practice expenses and reimbursement rates," Anders Gilberg, Medical Group Management Association's senior vice president of government affairs, said in a statement. "Today's final rule throws the financial viability of physician practices into question and threatens beneficiary access to care."