Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Votes No Change to Physician Fee Schedule
A federal advisory board known as the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, recently voted to not include any payment increases for hospitals or providers for 2023, as the board found that COVID-19 relief funds, especially to rural hospitals, increased total margins to record highs.
In December, MedPac released a report showing that the current number of physicians is stable, commercial rates exceeded Medicare reimbursements and compensation for providers increased between 2019 and 2020. The report also showed high scores regarding patient experience.
MedPAC also did not update statutory payments for ambulatory surgery centers and dialysis facilities, but still the number of ambulatory surgery centers increased by 2% in 2020.
Billions of federal relief fund dollars distributed during the pandemic provided a 4% increase in payments to providers in 2022, which helped to address the $9 billion decline in Medicare payments made to clinicians in 2020.
The American Medical Association has issued a recent statement disagreeing with the The American Medical Association has issued a recent statement disagreeing with the decision of MedPAC to freeze Medicare physician fee payments, based on data that shows Medicare physician payments declined by 20% from 2001 to 2020.
“The AMA greatly appreciates that Congress averted [a] nearly 10% cut to physician payment in 2022 and provided financial relief throughout the pandemic; however, a stable, annual physician payment update is necessary to keep pace with rising inflation and innovation in physician practices,” said Gerald Harmon, president of the American Medical Association, in a written statement.
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