The following statement is attributable to:
Jack Resneck Jr., MD
President, American Medical Association

“The Medicare payment schedule released today puts Congress on notice that a nearly 4.5 percent across-the-board reduction in payment rates is an ominous reality unless lawmakers act before Jan. 1. The rate cuts would create immediate financial instability in the Medicare physician payment system and threaten patient access to Medicare-participating physicians. The AMA will continue working with Congress to prevent this harmful outcome.

“Earlier this year, the AMA offered detailed comments (PDF) on the proposed payment schedule. It was immediately apparent that the 2023 Medicare physician payment rates not only failed to account for inflation in practice costs and COVID-related challenges to practice sustainability but also included the damaging across-the-board reduction. Unless Congress acts by the end of the year, physician Medicare payments are planned to be cut by nearly 8.5 percent in 2023—partly from the 4 percent PAYGO sequester—which would severely impede patient access to care due to the forced closure of physician practices and put further strain on those that remained open during the pandemic.

“The AMA and our partners in organized medicine have developed a set of principles (PDF) to guide efforts on Medicare physician payment reform. This is part of the AMA’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians and represents our ongoing work to establish a rational Medicare physician payment system that provides financial stability through positive annual payment updates, improves the financial viability of physician practices, and eases administrative burdens.”