On October 29, the bipartisan Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act (H.R. 10073) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by a group of lawmakers including Reps. Greg Murphy, MD (R-NC), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-IA), Ami Bera, MD (D-CA), Larry Buchson, MD (R-IN), Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA), John Joyce, MD (R-PA), and Kim Schrier, MD (D-WA). This legislation aims to prevent the anticipated 2.8% cut to the Medicare physician fee schedule set to take effect on January 1, 2025. Additionally, it proposes an inflationary update based on half of the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) for 2025. NASS signed onto a letter of support for this legislation along with many other stakeholder organizations such as the Alliance of Specialty Medicine and many other medical specialty organizations.

Before the introduction of H.R. 10073, a bipartisan group of 233 House members, led by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-IA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). In the letter, they called for swift legislative measures to prevent further cuts to Medicare payments and to ensure greater stability for healthcare providers serving Medicare beneficiaries. They advocated for a permanent annual inflationary update for Medicare, in line with the MEI, and called for targeted reforms to the Medicare physician fee schedule’s budget neutrality requirements.

Congress will reconvene on November 12 to wrap up its work for the 118th Congress. Those interested in urging their congressional representatives to support H.R. 10073 can use resources from the AMA’s Physicians Grassroots Network, which provides draft text and will deliver your message. y