MGMA Calls on Congress to Prevent Impending Medicare Cuts

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) wrote to the Ways and Means Committee and requested a hearing to prevent the imminent Medicare cuts described in the Physician Fee Schedule final rule for calendar year 2022.

In the Physician Fee Schedule final rule, CMS finalized a nearly 10 percent cut to Medicare physician reimbursement starting next year.

The letter by MGMA expresses how the cuts threaten their diverse membership with over 60,000 medical practice administrators, executives, and leaders. In addition, the group represents more than 15,000 medical groups and 350,000 physician practices.

Previously, Congress took actions last year in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, to mitigate the impact of the impending Medicare payment cuts. The Act consisted of a one-time injection of $3 billion into the Physician Fee Schedule to ensure the stability of many practices, but that expires at the end of this year.    

“As the voice for the country’s medical group practices, MGMA remains committed to promoting policies that enhance the ability of our members to provide high-quality, cost-effective care to the millions of patients they serve routinely, and to the emergency services they are called upon to provide during this pandemic,” Anders Gilberg Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at MGMA stated in the letter.

A recent survey shows both COVID-19 and Medicare cuts will have long-term health effects on patients.

The survey conducted by the American College of Surgeons surveyed over 2,000 surgeons across the country. The survey results suggest impending Medicare cuts to surgeons could result in more delays in patient care, including longer wait times.

Researchers also found that 57 percent of surgeons say the payment cuts to surgeons and surgical specialties will result in longer wait times for patients. Meanwhile, 56 percent of surgeons say that the impending cuts will delay care for patients if they take effect on January 1, 2022.

In addition, the survey found that 76 percent of staffing shortages caused by the pandemic have impacted surgical practices’ ability to provide top-quality care—a total of 69 percent of respondents credit delays in care to staffing shortages within healthcare facilities.

Data suggest that Medicare cuts combined with the COVID-19 health crisis will prolong delays in care and access to critical treatments resulting in more medically complex and expensive treatments. The added expenses could further strain the healthcare system.

“The pandemic has put tremendous strain on our health care system, not just for weeks or for months, but for more than a year,” American College of Surgeons Executive Director, David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, said in a press release.

“It has forced hospitals across the country who have run out of beds for patients to delay surgeries, and now, during a time when Congress should be investing in our health care system, they are implementing cuts that will further strain it, harming patients now and in the long-term.”