Congress Fails to Stop 2025 Physician Pay Cut

Last week, the 118th Congress adjourned without addressing a 2.83 percent cut to Medicare physician payment that will take effect on January 1. Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects the Medicare Economic Index will rise to 3.5 percent next year, further widening the gap between physician payment and the cost of delivering care to America’s seniors.  

ACOI was initially encouraged by the release of a bipartisan and bicameral deal on a legislative package that included a 2.5 percent positive Medicare payment adjustment for physicians. This and other health provisions were on the verge of enactment before being pulled and replaced with a significantly scaled back short-term spending bill.  

The failure of congressional lawmakers to provide physicians relief from another payment cut is deeply disappointing. ACOI is grateful to its members for sending nearly 1,000 messages to congressional lawmakers over the past year urging them to stop the cut, but our work is not done.  

Physicians have an opportunity to convince lawmakers to halt the cut next year. Congress must still pass a fiscal year 2025 spending bill by March 14, 2025, which could serve as a legislative vehicle for physician payment relief.

Physicians began 2024 facing a similar scenario because Congress had failed to address the physician payment cut at the end of 2023. Lawmakers ultimately acted in March 2024 to mitigate the cut for the remainder of the year. 

ACOI members can stay up to date on advocacy and policy news through the ACOI Government Relations blog.