Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Thune, Leader Schumer, and Leader Jeffries:
The undersigned physician and non-physician organizations, representing over one million clinicians, reach out to strongly urge Congress to take action to reverse the current 2.83 percent Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MFPS) Conversion Factor (CF) reduction
and provide clinicians with a positive payment update in the upcoming March 2025 appropriations bill. Specifically, we ask that you cosponsor and support passage of
H.R. 879, the bipartisan Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act.
Our organizations remain united on the need for both long- and short-term Medicare payment reform. Each year since 2020, Congress has acted to mitigate annual reductions in the MPFS CF. However, even with the additional relief from Congress, 2025 now
marks the fifth consecutive CF cut.
As the only major provider fee schedule without an annual automatic inflationary update, MPFS reimbursement has failed to keep pace with the actual costs of providing care, leaving our members to navigate financial uncertainty year after year after year.
Indeed, when adjusted for inflation, Medicare payments declined by 33 percent since 2001. The cost of running a medical practice continues to rise due to inflation. In fact, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projects a 3.5 percent increase
in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) in 2025. Clearly, this unstable path threatens Medicare beneficiaries’ timely access to quality care — in both rural and urban settings. The ongoing downward reimbursement spiral is also contributing to consolidation
in the health care system, as more clinicians are no longer able to sustain their practices and are forced to seek alternative business models, such as hospital employment, private equity and other alternatives. Finally, these cuts threaten the ability
of our members — who are employers and small business owners — to serve as economic engines of our local communities.
Hospitals enjoy a built-in inflationary update and Medicare Advantage plans receive an update in excess of inflation. Neither can singularly provide the care our patients need. It’s the clinicians who are the heroes of patient care, yet our members are
constantly being asked to do more with less, which is an extremely dangerous proposition that impacts the lives of millions of Medicare beneficiaries across the country.
Fortunately, a bipartisan group of lawmakers are once again attempting to stop the bleeding— at least for the remainder of 2025. H.R. 879, the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act, recently introduced by Representatives Greg Murphy,
MD (R-NC), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-IA), and Kim Schrier, MD (D-WA), along with several other bipartisan House members, prospectively stops the entirety of the current reimbursement reduction and helps account for rising
inflationary costs with a two percent payment increase, equivalent to roughly half of MEI for 2025. We urge Congressional leadership to include H.R. 879 in the upcoming government funding legislation.
We understand that Congress faces many complex issues, competing priorities, and shrinking legislative calendars. However, our members — and, more importantly, our patients — cannot wait any longer. The undersigned organizations, as always, stand ready
to help in any way we can to ensure both short- and long-term stability to ensure we can continue to do what we are all called to do — serve our patients.
Thank you for considering our request.
Sincerely,
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
ADVION (formerly National Association for the Support of Long Term Care)
Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation
Alliance of Specialty Medicine
Ambulatory Surgery Center
Association American Academy of Audiology
American Academy of Dermatology Association
American Academy Of Facial Plastic And Reconstructive Surgery
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology
American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Association of Clinical Urologists
American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Chiropractic Association
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
American College of Cardiology
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Gastroenterology
American College of Mohs Surgery
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Osteopathic Internists
American College of Physicians
American College of Radiation Oncology
American College of Radiology
American College of Rheumatology
American College of Surgeons
American Gastroenterological Association
American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living
American Medical Association
American Medical Rehabilitation Providers
American Nurses Association
American Occupational Therapy
Association American Optometric Association
American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society
American Physical Therapy Association
American Podiatric Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association Services
American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
American Society for Radiation Oncology
American Society for Surgery of the Hand Professional Organization
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery
American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons
American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology
American Society of Echocardiography
American Society of Hand Therapists
American Society of Neuroradiology
American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
American Society of Retina Specialists
American Society of Transplant Surgeons
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
American Urological Association
Association for Academic Pathology
Association for Clinical Oncology
Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists
Association of Women in Rheumatology
CardioVascular Coalition
Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations
College of American Pathologists
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Dialysis Vascular Access Coalition
Emergency Department Practice Management Association
Heart Failure Society of America
Heart Rhythm Advocates
Heart Rhythm Society
Indiana Association of Pathologists
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Large Urology Group Practice Association
Medical Group Management Association
National Association of Rehabilitation Providers and Agencies
National Infusion Center Association
Office-Based Facility Association
Outpatient Endovascular and Interventional Society
Radiology Business Management Association
Renal Physicians Association
Select Medical and the Alliance for Recovery Care
Society for Vascular Surgery
Society of Interventional Radiology
Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery
Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
US Oncology Network
State Medical Associations
California Medical Association
Florida Medical Association
Kentucky Medical Association
Louisiana State Medical Society
Massachusetts Medical Society
Medical Society of the State of New York
Missouri State Medical Association
Oklahoma State Medical Association
Pennsylvania Medical Society
South Dakota State Medical Association
Texas Medical Association
Washington State Medical Association
View a PDF version of this letter here.
