ASA Urges Congress To Fix Broken Medicare Payment System: Physicians Deserve Better

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) urged Congress to take steps to address the broken Medicare physician payment system. The formal request came as part of a House Energy and Commerce Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee hearing held yesterday on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). ASA urges specific reforms to address severely underfunded Medicare physician payments and to ensure anesthesiologists and other clinicians can be successful in Medicare quality payment programs.

ASA encourages Congress to pass H.R. 2474, the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act, a bill that would add an annual inflation adjustment to the Medicare physician fee schedule, and to adopt changes to the punitive Medicare budget neutrality mechanism. Additionally, ASA stresses the need for reforms to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and expanded opportunities to meaningfully participate in alternative payment models (APMs).

“ASA is encouraged by this congressional hearing, but action is required. The Medicare physician payment system is completely unsustainable. Current Medicare rates for anesthesia services bear absolutely no resemblance to reasonable market-based payment rates; but shockingly even more devastating payment cuts are scheduled for January 1, 2024. It is outrageous,” said ASA President Michael W. Champeau, M.D., FAAP, FASA. “Congress must act soon to fix this broken system. Physicians who care for Medicare beneficiaries deserve much better.”

For more details on ASA’s suggested reforms, access the full letter here.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS

Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 56,000 members organized to advance the practice and secure the future of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring the involvement of physician anesthesiologists in the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/MadeforThisMoment. Like ASA on Facebook, follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

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