The American Medical Association (AMA) has expressed its approval of the Medicare Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) acknowledgment of the growing disparity between Medicare payments and physicians' practice expenses. During a recent meeting, MedPAC emphasized for the third consecutive year that physician payment rate updates should be linked to an inflation-based index for Medicare.
According to the AMA, 2025 will mark the fifth year in a row of Medicare cuts. When adjusted for inflation, physicians' Medicare reimbursement has decreased by 29 percent since 2001. The association highlighted that "physicians are being paid nearly 30 percent less for the same work we did two decades ago, while costs to provide care and run an office have soared."
The AMA pointed out that at a time when there is a shortage of physicians, maintaining the current situation is unsustainable. It could potentially endanger healthcare access and physician practices nationwide. "It takes eight to 10 years to train a new physician," noted the AMA, "but for many physicians, it truly may only take one more year of these cuts for them to quit."
To ensure patient access to care remains intact, the AMA is urging Congress to reverse the upcoming 2.8-percent Medicare cut and instead implement a positive update for 2025—a legislative proposal with strong bipartisan support—and make significant reforms to align payment updates with growth in the Medicare Economic Index.
