Medicare payments set to decrease again

Without congressional intervention, the Medicare physician payment schedule will decrease again next year, this time by 2.83%. Meanwhile the cost of practicing medicine continues to grow, as CMS projects the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) will increase by 3.5%.

Both the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Medicare Trustees have issued warnings that payment declines could create access-to-care problems for America’s seniors and persons with disabilities. That’s already happening.

MSSC surveyed primary care practices earlier this year on whether they were currently accepting new Medicare patients. Of the practices that responded, which represented 161 physicians, only 31 were accepting new Medicare patients at that time.

To help fix this problem, MSSC supports H.R.10073, the Medicare Patients Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2024. The bill would block the cut, increase physician payment by one-half of the MEI, and result in a 12-month payment update of 4.73%.

MSSC’s larger goal is to amend the budget neutrality law that automatically triggers the payment cuts. It also wants Medicare payments to physicians to be linked to the MEI index, as is the case with hospitals and other health professionals.

It is important that members of Congress hear from physicians. A good resource, which includes links for emailing senators and representatives, is https://fixmedicarenow.org/.