Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Cuts Coming in January. Is Help on the Way?APTA A new bipartisan bill provides full relief to the 3.4% cuts, but nothing can happen until Congress comes back from recess. Despite strong advocacy from APTA, the American Medical Association, and more than 100 other patient and provider groups, Congress is likely to leave Capitol Hill without addressing a 3.4% cut to payment under Medicare Part B, closing the last window that would've prevented the cuts from taking effect Jan. 1. With the cuts now almost certain to be implemented, the next opportunity to provide relief will come in January, when Congress must act on government funding by Jan. 17. Fortunately, groundwork has been laid for a needed change, thanks to a recently introduced APTA-supported bipartisan bill that would fully offset the reductions. The bill, H.R. 6683, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, would provide full relief from the cuts, and make that relief retroactive to the Jan. 1 implementation date. APTA has joined with AMA and other provider groups to urge lawmakers to include the legislation in whatever package Congress adopts to fund the government in 2024, and the association is urging members and supporters to voice support for the bill with their lawmakers though the APTA Patient Action Center or Legislative Action Center. Both resources make the process fast and easy. Support for the legislation in the House is growing. Recently, more than 190 representatives signed onto a letter urging congressional leaders to prevent the cuts, writing that "physicians and other healthcare providers, who are confronting inflationary pressures and workforce shortages, need Congress to prevent this cut, which will add significant burdens to the healthcare infrastructure and the communities they serve." |