Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
More than half of the House is calling on leadership to avert Medicare physician payment cuts scheduled for next year, and to enact longer-term payment reforms.
Why it matters: A letter from a bipartisan group of 233 lawmakers, led by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, provides momentum for doctor payment issues to be addressed in a year-end health package.
What they're saying: "Continued payment cuts undermine the ability of independent clinical practices — especially in rural and underserved areas — to care for their community, which reduces patient access to care," the letter states.
- It calls for both averting the scheduled 2.8% cut in Medicare payments to doctors next year and enacting longer-term changes, such as a permanent annual payment update that better accounts for inflation.
Yes, but: Addressing physician payment cuts has become an annual rite for lawmakers, and the most likely outcome is another partial fix. Longer term changes may have to wait until next year.
- While there is bipartisan support for changes, paying for those fixes is always an issue. The letter calls for using "bipartisan offsets," but finding enough of those is often easier said than done.
