December Government Affairs Updates

Time is Running Out for Congress to Stop Physician Payment Cut

Without action from Congress, physicians will incur a 2.83 percent cut to their Medicare payments starting January 1, 2025. ACOI has endorsed legislation that would eliminate the pay cut and provide a positive payment update for physicians in 2025. The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act (H.R. 10073) was introduced by Reps. Greg Murphy, MD (R-NC) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). Bipartisan momentum has been building in Congress to address the cut. In November, 41 senators sent a letter to Senate leaders asking that the cut to Medicare physician payments be addressed, and that legislative solutions be developed to create long-term payment stability.  When the House and Senate reconvene after Thanksgiving, lawmakers will have less than three weeks before government funding runs out. Lawmakers must feel compelled to stop the cut as part of any end-of-year spending deal or stop-gap continuing resolution. Take action now! Ask your members of Congress to stop the cut before it takes effect on January 1, 2025. Taking action takes only a few minutes through the ACOI Action Center.    

CBO Estimate Paves the Way for Prior Authorization Bill

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has assigned a zero-cost score to bipartisan prior authorization legislation pending in the U.S. Senate and House, helping pave the way for the bill’s passage before the end of this year. ACOI has endorsed the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (S.4532/ H.R. 8702) which would codify and enhance elements of prior authorization regulations for Medicare Advantage plans finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier this year. Take action now! Ask your members of Congress to pass the bill.  

ACOI Calls for Passage of Step Therapy Reform

On October 15, ACOI and more than 200 other organizations sent a letter to Congress asking for passage of the Safe Step Act (S. 652 / H.R. 2630) before the end of this year. The bill would create common-sense exceptions to step therapy (or fail-first) protocols used by insurance companies that delay patient access to the treatment prescribed by their physician. This fall, ACOI participated in a video advocacy campaign led by the National Health Council to elevate the Safe Step Act among congressional lawmakers. In a recorded message, Immediate Past President Dr. Robert Hasty noted that it would be “unethical for a physician to ask a patient to fail a therapy first, but that is exactly what the insurance companies are asking for,” which is why Congress must pass the Safe Step Act. Take action and ask lawmakers to pass the Safe Step Act before the end of this year.  

CMS Awards New GME Residency Slots

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded 200 new graduate medical education (GME) residency slots out of 1,000 new total slots. These partially Medicare-funded residencies are intended to enhance the health care workforce and address access to care challenges and workforce shortages in underserved communities.  

To date, CMS has awarded 303 resident slots for primary care (including obstetrics/gynecology) and 126 slots for psychiatry.  

The newly announced 200 residency positions are in 109 teaching hospitals across 33 states. This third round of new positions will be effective July 1, 2025.  

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 made available the additional 1,000 resident slots which are to be phased in at a rate of no more than 200 slots per year over five years. Additionally, the law requires at least 10 percent of the cap slots go to hospitals in rural areas. Concern has arisen that designated slots are being awarded to rural referral centers located in urban areas, rather than hospitals in rural communities. ACOI is on record in support of legislation, the Rural Physician Workforce Preservation Act (H.R. 8235), that would ensure that geographically rural hospitals receive the GME funding prioritization.

The application period for the fourth round of 200 residency positions will open in January 2025 and close on March 31, 2025.

Co-chairs of GOP Doctors Caucus Named

The GOP Doctors Caucus has elected Representative John Joyce, MD (R-PA) as GOP Doctors Caucus Co-Chair for the 119th Congress, joining Representative Greg Murphy, MD (R-NC). The caucus is comprised of Republican House members who are also medical providers.  Representative Joyce has served in the House since 2019 and is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Dermatology. Representative Murphy has also served in the House since 2019 and completed his surgical residency in urology and renal transplantation. In May, ACOI Immediate Past President Dr. Robert Hasty and ACOI Government Affairs Committee Chair Dr. Jeannette Kelly met with Representative Joyce’s staff to talk about issues important to ACOI members. Both Representatives Joyce and Murphy have led legislative efforts to shield physicians from Medicare payment cuts and reform prior authorization practices of Medicare Advantage plans.