Congressional committee advances bill to reform radiologist reimbursement in Medicare

A key congressional committee has advanced a bill to reform Medicare payment for radiologists and other physicians. 

The House Ways & Means Committee unanimously advanced the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act of 2026, which is endorsed by multiple radiology societies. Co-sponsored by Reps. Greg Murphy, MD, R-N.C., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., the legislation would cap pay cuts for physicians—limiting annual conversion factor fluctuations to 2.5%. 

W&M Committee Chairman and Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., said he believes the bill will help independent docs “keep their doors open” by “modernizing the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.”

“The current system is outdated, unpredictable, and over half of independent physicians cited Medicare reimbursement cuts as a major reason why they chose to consolidate,” Smith said in prepared remarks posted May 21, the day Ways & Means okayed the bill. “This bill from Dr. Murphy and Representative Suozzi protects patient access to care by stabilizing Medicare reimbursements and holds Washington bureaucrats accountable for unreliable calculations.”

First introduced in March, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act also would increase the budget-neutrality threshold from $20 million to $54.3 million. It additionally would index this threshold to the cumulative percentage increase in the Medicare Economic Index, a measure of practice cost inflation, every five years, among other changes. Current budget rules in Medicare mean that any increase in spending in one place—for instance, to primary care pay in recent years—necessitates cuts elsewhere. 

Ahead of the committee vote, the American College of Radiology, Society of Interventional Radiology and American Society of Neuroradiology on Tuesday urged Congress to push forward with the bill. They contend the legislation represents a “necessary step toward building a more rational, predictable Medicare physician payment system.” One that helps to “preserve patient access to care and reflects the true cost of delivering high-quality medical services.” ACR et al. cited the commonly used American Medical Association statistic, estimating that Medicare pay for physicians has fallen 33% since 2001, when adjusting for inflation. 

ACR CEO Dana Smetherman, MD, MBA, MPH, advocated for the legislation during a House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee meeting on May 20. The hearing was titled “Examining the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, MACRA, and Opportunities for Payment Reform.” She highlighted other favorable provisions in House Resolution 8163, including implementing a “look back period” to reconcile over- and underutilization estimates and making more timely updates to direct costs used to calculate practice expense RVUs. 

“These statutory changes are long-overdue,” she said in prepared remarks, thanking the legislation’s co-sponsors.

The American Medical Association on Thursday applauded the Ways & Means Committee for advancing the bill, calling it a “major step in curing a flawed budget policy.”

“Without reform, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule produces a year-end budget mashup that injects uncertainty in physician practices due to the requirement that the fee schedule remain budget neutral,” AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, said in a statement May 21. “These cuts threaten the viability of practices, especially in rural and underserved communities.”

H.R. 8163 now advances to the full U.S. House for further consideration.

“We look forward to working with Congress as this bill moves along. The vote today is an encouraging sign that meaningful budget neutrality reform is possible,” Mukkamala added.