Bipartisan House bill introduced to stop physician pay cut
A 2.8% payment cut went into effect on January 1 after a spending bill stripped a provision to prevent the decrease.
Photo: Jeremy Walke/Getty Images
A group of 10 bipartisan representatives this morning has introduced a bill to stop the 2.8% payment cut to physician pay.
The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025, introduced this morning in the House by Representatives, would stop the payment cut that went into effect on January 1, according to MGMA, the Medical Group Management Association.
The prospective pay fix would start on April 1. The bill fully offsets the 2.8% Medicare reimbursement cut and provides an inflationary update, boosting physician payment 2% for the year. This would be prorated to account for the months that the cut would have been in effect in January, February and March.
It would leave Medicare claims already processed the same and adjust all future claims, according to MGMA.
MGMA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Anders Gilberg said by statement, "MGMA urges swift passage of the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025. Physician practices are now a month into the new year, facing uncertainty and financial shortfalls from the congressional failure to reverse the 2025 Medicare fee schedule cuts."
WHY THIS MATTERS
In December 2024, a spending bill included a provision to prevent the Medicare pay cut to physicians. But in last minute revisions, that provision was stripped out of the bill. Physicians got a 2.8% Medicare payment cut starting on January 1.
Gilberg said, "These cuts have negatively impacted the viability of their Medicare business, commercial contracts tied to Medicare rates, as well as Medicaid reimbursement in states that use Medicare as a benchmark. With nearly 80% of all physicians now employed by facilities and larger entities, Medicare beneficiaries in areas of the country that rely solely on community-based medical practices are especially vulnerable to access issues."
Physician practices will be forced to close their doors, he said, as they are unable to keep up with rising staff salaries, rent and administrative costs.
The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025 was introduced in the House by Representatives Dr. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Ca.), John Joyce (R-Penn.), Raul Ruiz (D-Ca.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Ami Bera (D-Ca.), Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).
THE LARGER TREND
The American Medical Association has yet to weigh in on the new bill, but has previously said declining reimbursement rates for Medicare would have "predictable and deleterious results," including physicians closing or selling their private practices.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission had recommended a permanent, inflation-based update.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
