Physician Fee Schedule: Speaking Out to Make Your Voice Heard with Zelda Rariden

Physician reimbursement cuts have long been an issue. According to AMA data , Medicare physician payment has dropped by 22% adjusted for inflation between 2001 and 2021, and another 4% between 2021 and 2023.

While many providers are weighing in on the 2024 Medicare Fee schedule, the bottom line is that we still received a cut. Running a practice and caring for patients is becoming unsustainable for physicians, who have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, staff shortages, burnout and more. Physicians fall into the only group that does not automatically get an annual inflation increase to cover the rising costs of doing business. These cuts every year are unstainable and a recipe for financial instability. Physicians and practitioners need relief from this unstainable journey.

AMA President, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld says, “As physicians, we are trained to run toward emergencies. We urge Congress to do the same. We encourage Congress to act if this policy decision is an emergency because—in fact—it is. It is well past time to put an end to stopgap measures that fail to address the underlying causes of the continuing decline in Medicare physician payments. In the coming months, Congress must turn its attention to Medicare reform.”

How do we get Congress to respond? There is strength in numbers. Banding together and sharing our struggles with Congress makes the problem REAL to them. This puts a “face” to the problem. This is the reason I joined the AAOE Advocacy Council. I get to share my struggles and many of my colleagues struggle firsthand. These cuts hinder our ability to adequately pay staff, purchase new equipment and invest further in our practices. Without a long-term reform our practices may be forced to close our doors for good, leaving patients without access to high quality care. Nothing is impossible if we can keep the pressure up for a fix. It’s imperative that U.S. senators and representatives continue to hear grassroots voices and stories so that the physician Medicare payment system can be fixed once and for all. 

Get involved today. AAOE Advocacy would love to hear from you.