ACOI Underscores Risks of Payment Inadequacy

In a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the ACOI warns that cuts to Medicare physician payments threaten patient access to care and are contributing to physician practice consolidation and acquisition.

The letter was in response to CMS’ proposed changes to 2025 physician payment rates and other policy proposals.

Physician payment rates will drop by 2.8 percent effective January 1, 2025. The cut, that CMS will be forced to finalize without congressional action, is the result of an expiring temporary positive payment adjustment provided by Congress. Physician practices will also struggle to keep up with increasing practice costs because there is no inflationary adjustment for physician payment. In fact, physicians are the only Medicare providers that will not receive an annual inflationary update again next year.

Because only Congress can prevent another Medicare physician payment cut, lawmakers need to hear from physicians. Lawmakers must also feel pressure to reform the payment system, starting with enacting an annual, permanent inflationary physician payment update that is tied to the Medicare Economic Index.

 

Take Action Now

ACOI members are urged to make their voices heard by contacting their members of Congress. ACOI has made it easy to send an email to lawmakers through its Action Center. Even if you have contacted your lawmakers in the past, now is the time to take action again.