Physician groups press Congress to address radiologist pay cut in early 2024
Physician groups are urging Congress to address a forthcoming pay cut for radiologists and other specialties when lawmakers reconvene in early 2024.
The Medical Group Management Association made its case in a Wednesday letter to leaders in both chambers. Anders Gilberg, MGMA’s senior VP of government affairs, pointed to the Preserving Seniors' Access to Physicians Act, which would halt the nearly 3.37% cut to conversion factor, as a potential solution. With Congress failing to act prior to the end of the year, diagnostic radiology will face a 3% Medicare pay decrease while interventional specialists stand to lose an aggregate of 4%, the American College of Radiology estimated previously.
“We write to emphasize the urgent need for Congress to take action to avert the pending 2024 Medicare reimbursement cut as soon as possible to avoid dire consequences to this nation’s healthcare system and enact additional legislation to bolster medical group practices’ ability to provide high-quality care,” Gilberg wrote Dec. 19.
MGMA—which represents more than 15,000 physician groups across radiology and other specialties—surveyed 517 practices about the potential impact of the cut. It found that providers would consider accepting fewer new Medicare patients, reducing charity care, cutting clinical staff and closing satellite locations. About 92% indicated that Medicare reimbursement in 2022 did not cover the cost of care.
The American Medical Association issued its own plea on Dec. 15 after Congress adjourned, also endorsing the Preserving Seniors’ Access to Physicians Act of 2023. AMA noted that the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization bill includes $2.2 billion in sequester cuts for physicians in a Medicare Improvement Fund, “more than enough funding to stop the 3.37% cuts in their entirety.”
“Congress has multiple paths to avert these cuts, preserve seniors’ access to their physicians, and ensure access to Medicare across the country,” AMA President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, said in a statement. “We have a bipartisan legislative fix and more than enough funding in the Medicare Improvement Fund. We urge lawmakers to act quickly, preserve Medicare access, and pass this vital legislation.”
You can read the full letter from MGMA, which highlights several other potential policy solutions, here.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.