Hundreds of physicians in their white coats rallied in force in the oldest congressional office building in the nation’s capital to show their support for the elected leaders who are advancing bipartisan legislation that would stop the 2.83% cut in Medicare payments to physician practices this year while providing a 2% payment update.
The AMA is leading the charge to reform the Medicare payment system and strongly supports the measure—H.R. 879, the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act. This legislation would, effective April 1, prospectively cancel the physician payment cut that took effect Jan. 1. The measure has already gathered 63 bipartisan co-sponsors.
Similar legislation introduced toward the end of the 118th Congress enjoyed bipartisan, bicameral support, but Congress failed to address the issue during the lame-duck session. The next legislative chance to reverse the cut comes in mid-March, which is the deadline to fund the federal government through the end of this fiscal year.
H.R. 879 was introduced by Reps. Greg Murphy, MD (R-N.C.), and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), along with eight other House members. Dr. Murphy and Panetta addressed the physician crowd in the Cannon House Office Building Tuesday and thanked them for coming to Capitol Hill to show Congress how the fifth straight year of physician payment cuts in Medicare is affecting patients’ access to care and endangering physician practices.
Reps. Kimberly Schrier, MD (D-Wash.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-Iowa), John Joyce, MD (R-Pa.), Raul Ruiz, MD (D-Calif.), Ami Bera, MD (D-Calif.), and Mike Kennedy, MD (R-Utah), also spoke at the event. Several of the House members emphasized that they would be unable to vote “yes” on a government-funding deal if it failed to address the Medicare physician payment cut, with one dubbing it a “line in the sand.”
The AMA also took out a full-page ad in Tuesday’s edition of The Hill, which said “The Medicare Patient and Access and Practice Stabilization Act must be included in the next spending package” and included a QR code to learn more.
The show of force in Congress extended to more than 350 visits with House members and senators from physicians amid a storm that would dump over six inches of snow on Washington. The doctors making visits got top-notch training and resources at the AMA National Advocacy Conference, which ran Monday through Wednesday.
Training sessions at the conference counseled physicians on an effective “hook, line and sinker” approach to legislative meetings. The ultimate hook is the doctors’ personal stories that show the impact of the Medicare payment cuts and the ask from every physician and medical student visiting with legislators was clear: House members should co-sponsor H.R. 879 and senators should introduce companion legislation in the Congress’ upper chamber. An AMA action kit (PDF) gave doctors easy access to compelling facts and figures to bolster their personal stories.
The most astounding of these statistics is that—when adjusted for inflation in practice costs—physicians in 2025 are being paid 33% less (PDF) for care to Medicare patients than doctors were paid in 2001, according to AMA research.
Patients and physicians across the country can take similar action using Fix Medicare Now to ask their representatives to co-sponsor the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act today.
On Monday, 80 health care organizations and all 50 state medical societies wrote congressional leaders (PDF) urging them to reverse the latest round of Medicare payment cuts and provide physicians with a meaningful payment increase that reflects ongoing inflationary pressures.
House members speak up
Many members of Congress made their way to the AMA National Advocacy Conference, held at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, to cover a wide gamut of health care issues and voice their support for fixing Medicare now. The House members who addressed the conference, many of whom have signed on to support H.R. 879, were:
- Herb Conaway, MD (D-N.J.).
- Robert Onder, MD (R-Mo.).
- Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).
- Maxine Dexter, MD (D-Ore.).
- Kelly Morrison, MD (D-Minn.).
- Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).
- Rich McCormick, MD (R-Ga.).
At an awards dinner Tuesday night, the AMA honored another strong congressional supporter of Medicare physician payment reform, Rep. Neal Dunn, MD (R-Fla.), the founding president of a large surgical practice in the Florida Panhandle.
“I can tell you from experience that operating a private practice comes with many challenges, and I have made it my mission to ensure that Washington keeps pace with the ever-shifting needs of our physicians and the patients they serve,” Dr. Dunn said in a statement. “I remain committed to improving our health care system to benefit patients and providers alike and look forward to continuing that work as vice chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.”
In remarks opening the conference, AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD, detailed the importance of “fixing our broken Medicare payment system that continues to push physician practices to the brink of financial failure.”
He noted the year after year of Medicare physician payment “cuts are irresponsible and unsustainable, and the fallout is already being felt in communities around this nation.” The cumulative impact “has created enormous financial pressure on physicians like myself in private practice. But you don’t have to work in independent practice to feel the ripple effects of this failing system because every time an independent physician is forced to reduce their hours or restrict the number of Medicare patients they see, it creates an even greater burden on the system at large.”
Dr. Conaway was the first member of Congress to address the doctors gathered at the conference, on Tuesday, and earned loud applause when he announced that he has co-sponsored H.R. 879 “to eliminate this 2.8% cut.” He said he hopes his Senate colleagues will introduce companion legislation there, and that the measure should “come from both sides of the aisle” to impress upon leadership that “these cuts are unsustainable if we care about senior citizens and others who need this care.”
On Wednesday, Dr. Onder—who represents the eastern and central portion of Missouri—kicked off a series of visits from lawmakers who spoke to the physician crowd at the Grand Hyatt. Dr. Onder served Missouri patients for over 30 years in private practice, specializing in allergy, asthma and clinical immunology. He signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 879 on Feb. 7 and at the conference discussed how preserving patient access to care and bringing down the high costs of prescriptions are essential to ensuring the best outcomes possible for all patients.
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Krishnamoorthi, whose district encompasses Chicago’s western and northwestern suburbs, is one of the original co-sponsors of H.R. 879.
He expressed support for a “temporary doc fix” and also a “permanent doc fix,” namely the Strengthening Medicare for Patients Providers Act. That bipartisan bill, which Krishnamoorthi co-sponsored in the last session of Congress, was designed to give physicians an annual Medicare payment update tied to the Medicare Economic Index.
Medicare physician payment is an issue with “real-life consequences,” he said, adding that “we’re at a fork in the road.” If the broken Medicare payment system goes unaddressed, “guess what happens? Doctors retire or reduce the number of patients they see,” meaning that “fewer patients have access to doctors. It’s just that simple.”
Krishnamoorthi urged the physicians in the crowd to continue showing up in force in Congress.
“You have a special currency on Capitol Hill because people trust doctors,” Krishnamoorthi said. “Do whatever you can do to send this message to every single member of Congress, Republican or Democrat.”
“I am with you”
A new member of Congress, Dr. Dexter is a pulmonologist and critical care physician who represents the Portland, Ore., area.
“I am with you,” she said at the conference, noting that despite having the most expensive health care system in the world, the U.S. fails to update physicians’ pay to keep up with inflation in the same way that hospitals, nursing homes and others do.
“We must address these flaws in the Medicare system, and we must do it in this cycle,” she said, voicing her support for H.R. 879. She urged doctors to press members of Congress for a commitment on the issue.
“Once policymakers give you their word, it’s hard for them to backtrack on that. We encourage you to be firm on that,” Dr. Dexter said.
Dr. Morrison, an ob-gyn whose district encompasses the Minneapolis suburbs, said her support for fixing Medicare is part of a broader diagnosis about U.S. health care.
“The state of medicine is tough right now,” she said. “Health care costs are soaring. Physicians are burning out at a faster rate. Our patients trust us less than they used to, many for reasons that are out of control, and patients often can’t get in to get the care that they need.
“Patients pay the price,” she added, “when Congress fails to legislate an appropriate Medicare payment rate,” while doctors “see their days getting longer and visit times cut shorter and shorter.”
Rep. DeGette is the new Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. In her remarks, she expressed concern about sustaining Medicare payments for physicians so they have the capacity to continue taking care of the patients in their communities. She also highlighted other areas of possible bipartisan activity on the Energy and Commerce Committee this year.
Dr. McCormick, who represents suburban Atlanta, added that the effort to fix Medicare physician payment “is a real fight, and it’s about common sense,” adding the members of Congress “know what the problem is.”
Echoing other speakers, he urged physicians to speak up and force members of Congress to listen.
“You need to advocate—and make your patients advocates—for what matters,” he said.
To further equip yourself as a physician advocate, consult the AMA’s Medicare Basics series, which provides an in-depth look at important aspects of the Medicare physician payment system.
