Rep. Greg Murphy (RN.C.) worries that if he does nothing to curb cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, doctors will not be able to afford to implement their personal practices.
“We're in the crucible. If we don't fight these cuts here, if we can't get rid of them, if we don't reverse them, we don't know how our private practice will survive,” Murphy said Thursday in “Medicare Doctor Payment.”
Physicians' Medicare reimbursement payments were reduced as payments fell by 2.83% for the fifth consecutive year on January 1st. However, some people insist on cutting It's actually higher When considering inflation.
Last year, following a 2% reduction in the previous year, refunds were also reduced by 1.69%.
These reductions are not new in Medicare, as changes to physician fee schedules must be budget-neutral or increase total Medicare spending to more than $20 million in certain years. According to KFF.
However, repeated reductions come amid rising costs of medical procedures.
Inflation-adjusted Medicare rebates for physicians have fallen 33% since 2001. According to estimates From the American Medical Association (AMA). Meanwhile, medical care costs increased by 59% over the same period.
Increased overhead costs for medical practices contributes to a decrease in the number of doctors working independently of hospitals and other healthcare systems.
1 Analysis from AMA The number of doctors working in private practices fell 13 percentage points (60% to 46.7%) between 2012 and 2022.
Murphy, a practice surgeon with his own private practice, noted that private practitioners spend a lot of time floating around their facilities.
“You're learning to try and reduce costs at every point and make sure you can pay your staff,” he said. “And we're trying to keep our staff members up so they don't run to another practice just to get more money.”
According to AMA doctor and president Bruce Scott, who also attended the Hill event, private practice closures have also hurt patients by disrupting care.
Congress could do much to combat Medicare reimbursement cuts, reform the advantages of Medicare, reform the denial and pre-approval process, and reintroduced it alongside nine other members of the home in late January to pass the Stabilization of Access and Practice for Medicare Patients.
A group of doctors recently gathered outside Congress in support of the bill. This is attempting to cancel a 2.83% Medicare reimbursement cut and provide a 2% wage increase.
If passed by the federal funding deadline of March 14, the bill will take effect on April 1.
Murphy is optimistic that the bill will be passed this year, and told Hill that it has more than 90 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors.
“I discussed this with the speaker and the White House and confirmed that this will be done soon. “We are on a deadline. We are at an important point when it comes to funding doctors. When will we achieve this, if not now?”
