Congress released omnibus legislation in a $1.7 trillion spending bill that halts the planned 4.5 percent Medicare reimbursement cut, which is scheduled to grow over the next two years.
"The AMA is extremely disappointed and dismayed that Congress failed to prevent Medicare cuts next year, threatening the financial viability of physician practices and endangering access to care for Medicare beneficiaries," Jack Resneck Jr., MD, president of the American Medical Association, said in a statement shared with Becker's. "This 2 percent cut following two decades of flat payment rates will have consequences on healthcare access for older Americans."
According to the statement, the pay cut paired with high inflation threaten physician practice viability as physicians are the only Medicare providers without annual inflation-based updates.
The bill, which includes CMS physician fee cuts, also would extend the provider bonus for participating in Medicare value-based parents, but reduced the incentive to 3.5 percent.