Radiology pushes for doc fix as government funding deadline looms

The radiology profession is increasing pressure on Congress to pass a doc fix as a deadline looms to fund the U.S. government. 

Lawmakers have until Friday, March 14, to fund federal programs after approving a stopgap end-of-year continuing resolution in December. Radiologists and other physicians are urging Congress to pass the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act, introduced by a bipartisan group of representatives on Jan. 31. 

The bill would undo the 2.83% cut to the conversion factor, used to calculate physician payments, also providing a 2% increase. Advocates believe this will help stabilize physician practices while also protecting patient access to care. 

“FULL doc fix needs to be in the [continuing resolution]. Senate Dems have made physician pay a partisan issue,” Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, R-N.C., a co-sponsor of the House bill, shared on social media Monday. “Hospitals and insurance companies have been getting plussed up by Medicare boost while docs have been slashed. Enough!”

Organizations representing the specialty—including the Society of Interventional Radiology and American College of Radiology—recently issued calls to action, urging rads to reach out to their representatives. This is the fifth consecutive year of Medicare cuts which, combined with inflation, will “limit access to IR services, stifle investment and innovation, and negatively impact patient access,” SIR noted.

“[House Resolution] 879 offers short-term relief from a broken Medicare system that continually fails to address rising inflation and declining reimbursement for physicians,” the interventional society said. “SIR is also asking Congress to pass legislation that provides permanent, annual inflationary Medicare physician payment updates tied to a full Medical Economic Index.”

In a separate post shared Feb. 28, ACR noted the bill would add 6.62% to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor. If passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump, the measure would take effect April 1. The college wants H.R. 879 included in this month’s discussions, rather than waiting any longer. 

“Now is the time to urge Congress to include provisions in the forthcoming March 2025 appropriations bill that reverse the latest round of Medicare payment cuts and provide physicians with a meaningful payment update that reflects ongoing inflationary pressures,” ACR said in its call to action. “Absent long-term Medicare payment reform, physicians are vulnerable to various competing financial factors, including the increased costs of running a practice,” the college added later. 

The American Medical Association also issued a statement Feb. 28, contending that “momentum is building” behind the bill. H.R. 879 now has 99 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House, with AMA commending the GOP Doctors Caucus for pushing the pay fix. 

“If Congress were comprised solely of physicians, this would be easy,” President Bruce A. Scott, MD, said in a statement. “But only a handful of lawmakers have practiced medicine, and now they are taking the lead on this issue. We hope the rest of Congress will follow.”

Radiology consulting firm Healthcare Administrative Partners on March 4 published a blog exploring the impact of the 2025 physician fee schedule changes. With the reduction, the conversion factor has fallen to $32.3465 per relative value unit (RVU). There were no reimbursement increases in the table of global billing fees after applying the 2.83% reduction, though a few procedures saw “minor” RVU valuation increases, HAP noted. 

Meanwhile, the professional component “fared a bit better,” with 13 procedure codes receiving an increase in reimbursement, wrote Sandy Coffta, HAP’s VP of client services.