Poll of Medicare beneficiaries shows ‘overwhelming’ opposition to cutting radiologist pay
A new poll of Medicare beneficiaries released Thursday morning shows “overwhelming” opposition to cutting pay for radiologists and other physicians.
More than three-quarters of those reached (76%) said they disagree with reducing reimbursement to rads under the 2024 physician fee schedule. Another 74% disagree with paying healthcare providers less for imaging services such as mammograms.
The findings are derived from an Oct. 11-13 survey of 1,200 seniors, conducted by the Radiology Patient Action Network and the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance.
“This data clearly shows that the American people do not support cuts to Medicare providers that could reduce access to quality care,” Bob Still, executive director of the network and the Radiology Business Management Association, said in an Oct. 19 announcement of the survey results. “We urge Congress and the administration to listen to the people and reconsider these proposed reimbursement reductions that could seriously impact patient care across the country.”
Another 53% of respondents agreed that cutting payments to providers is equivalent to cutting Medicare itself. Meanwhile, 31% are “somewhat concerned” and 49% “extremely concerned” about reimbursement reductions to radiologists and other physicians. About 73% of respondents believe the federal government should be investing more in diagnostic imaging, not less.
“Cutting reimbursements now would only further damage providers that are still recovering from COVID-19,” Patrick Hope, JD, executive director of the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, which represents device manufacturers, said in the announcement. “Ensuring adequate funding for imaging services that detect diseases early and save lives needs to remain a top priority.”
The survey comes after CMS released the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in July, proposing pay reductions for diagnostic and interventional radiologists. Advocates anticipate that the federal government will release the final fee schedule in the coming weeks.
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.