While Congress has taken action to mitigate some of the recent Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) cuts on a temporary basis, reimbursement continues to decline. To make matters worse, physicians remain the only providers whose Medicare payments do not automatically receive an annual inflationary update. As a result, Medicare physician payments have lagged 29% behind the rate of inflation growth since 2001. This places a terrible financial burden on physicians and makes it difficult for them to keep their doors open and ensure quality care for patients.
The lack of adequate reimbursement for psychiatry is particularly problematic and as a result, limits the numbers of psychiatrists accepting Medicare patients. In collaboration with our partners in the house of medicine, APA continues to advocate to reform the Medicare physician payment system, including in a recent letter to Congressional leadership.
We need you today to urge your member of Congress to support H.R. 2474, the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act. This bipartisan legislation will provide an annual inflationary physician payment update in Medicare tied to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI).
