AES Signs On to Letter of Support for HR 2474/Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act

Dear Representatives Ruiz, Bucshon, Bera, and Miller-Meeks:

The undersigned national physician specialty societies and state medical associations commend you for introducing H.R. 2474, the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act. This bipartisan legislation advances the ongoing need to provide financial stability to physician practices in order to preserve access to care for Medicare beneficiaries.

Providing an annual inflation update equal to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) for Medicare physician payments is essential to enabling physician practices to better absorb payment distributions triggered by budget neutrality rules, performance adjustments, and periods of high inflation. It will also help physicians invest in their practices and implement new strategies to provide high-value care.

The annual “stop the Medicare payment cut” exercises are due, in no small part, to the fact that physician services do not receive the annual inflationary update that virtually all other Medicare providers can rely on to better weather periods of fiscal uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic further illustrated the challenges physicians endure due to the current broken Medicare payment system. While the temporary and partial patches that Congress has provided through 2024 were necessary under the current payment system, they are a distraction, exacerbate budgeting challenges for practices, and divert resources that both medicine and Congress could be spending on other meaningful health care policies and innovations. Therefore, organized medicine is united in support of a long-term payment solution that centers on annual inflationary updates.

Once again, we sincerely appreciate your leadership in introducing H.R. 2474, as this legislation promotes this key element of any comprehensive, meaningful Medicare physician payment reform plan. We look forward to working with you on this legislation to advance it through the House and Senate during the 118th Congress.

CC:

The Honorable Charles Schumer, Majority Leader, United States Senate

The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, United States Senate

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy, Speaker, United States House of Representatives

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader, United States House of Representatives

The Honorable Ron Wyden, Chair, Senate Committee on Finance

The Honorable Mike Crapo, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Finance

The Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair, House Committee on Energy and Commerce

The Honorable Frank Pallone, Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce

The Honorable Jason Smith, Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means

The Honorable Richie Neal, Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means

To:

The Honorable Raul Ruiz
United States House of Representatives
2342 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Larry Bucshon
United States House of Representatives
2313 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Ami Bera
United States House of Representatives
172 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mariannette Miller-Meeks
United States House of Representatives
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

From:

American Medical Association

AMDA-The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

American Academy of Dermatology Association

American Academy of Family Physicians

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

American Academy of Neurology

American Academy of Ophthalmology

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy

American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

American Academy of Sleep Medicine

American Association for Hand Surgery

American Association of Clinical Endocrinology

American Association of Clinical Urologists, Inc.

American Association of Neurological Surgeons

American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine

American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

American College of Cardiology

American College of Chest Physicians

American College of Emergency Physicians

American College of Gastroenterology

American College of Lifestyle Medicine

American College of Medical Genetics & Genomics

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American College of Osteopathic Internists

American College of Physicians

American College of Radiation Oncology

American College of Radiology

American College of Surgeons

American Epilepsy Society

American Gastroenterological Association

American Medical Group Association

American Medical Women's Association

American Psychiatric Association

American Society for Clinical Pathology

American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

American Society for Radiation Oncology

American Society of Anesthesiologists

American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery

American Society of Hematology

American Society of Nuclear Cardiology

American Society of Retina Specialists

American Society of Transplant Surgeons

American Urogynecologic Society

American Urological Association

Association for Clinical Oncology

Association of American Medical Colleges

College of American Pathologists

Congress of Neurological Surgeons

Endocrine Society

Heart Rhythm Society

International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery

Medical Group Management Association

National Association of Medical Examiners

National Association of Spine Specialists

North American Neuromodulation Society

Renal Physicians Association

Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions

Society for Pediatric Dermatology

Society for Vascular Surgery

Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons

Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography

Society of Hospital Medicine

Society of Interventional Radiology

Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

Spine Intervention Society

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Medical Association of the State of Alabama

Alaska State Medical Association

Arizona Medical Association

Arkansas Medical Society

California Medical Association

Colorado Medical Society

Connecticut State Medical Society

Medical Society of Delaware

Medical Society of the District of Columbia

Florida Medical Association

Medical Association of Georgia

Hawaii Medical Association

Idaho Medical Association

Illinois State Medical Society

Indiana State Medical Association

Iowa Medical Society

Kansas Medical Society

Kentucky Medical Association

Louisiana State Medical Society

Maine Medical Association

MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society

Massachusetts Medical Society

Michigan State Medical Society

Minnesota Medical Association

Mississippi State Medical Association

Missouri State Medical Association

Montana Medical Association

Nebraska Medical Association

Nevada State Medical Association

New Hampshire Medical Society

Medical Society of New Jersey

New Mexico Medical Society

Medical Society of the State of New York

North Carolina Medical Society

North Dakota Medical Association

Ohio State Medical Association

Oklahoma State Medical Association

Oregon Medical Association

Pennsylvania Medical Society

Rhode Island Medical Society

South Carolina Medical Association

South Dakota State Medical Association

Tennessee Medical Association

Texas Medical Association

Utah Medical Association

Vermont Medical Society

Medical Society of Virginia

Washington State Medical Association

West Virginia State Medical Association

Wisconsin Medical Society

Wyoming Medical Society