The American Medical Association (AMA) has expressed its support for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) recent discussions on Medicare payment reform. The AMA acknowledges MedPAC's consideration of linking physician practice payment updates to the cost of providing care, a stance long advocated by the AMA.
"MedPAC today discussed recommending to indefinitely link payment updates for physician practices to the growth in the cost of providing care, a position long championed by the AMA," stated an AMA representative. This change aims to maintain patient access to care by aligning payments with rising costs, similar to automatic yearly updates received by other providers.
MedPAC's discussions come amidst evidence highlighting the need for reform. "MedPAC has plenty of evidence for the need to change its recommended approach: the rate of medical inflation is high while physician payments have been cut for five consecutive years; physicians are abandoning private practice as they cannot make the economics work; physicians are suffering from high burnout while trying to treat their patients."
The AMA urges Congress to consider these recommendations seriously, especially following Congress's failure in December to prevent a 2.8% cut in Medicare payments despite increasing practice costs. "We hope Congress pays attention," said an AMA spokesperson.
In addition, MedPAC voted earlier this year to recommend tying Medicare updates to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), suggesting an update for physician practices at MEI minus 1 percentage point. The current recommendation considers changing baseline increases under current law from 0.25% or 0.75% if participating in an alternative payment model, reflecting a portion of MEI.
The AMA sees this move as crucial for ensuring predictability and stability in physician payments, thus maintaining and improving access to care.
