Advocacy in Action

On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the final rules for the calendar year (CY) 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System.

HRS endorsed the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2024 to prevent the across-the-board 2.83% cut to the MPFS conversion factor set to take effect on January 1, 2025.

HRS, lawmakers, and other stakeholders will continue to press for action to avert the impending physician conversion factor pay cut before the end of the year.

On October 11th and 12th, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held the second meeting of its 2024/2025 meeting cycle.

CMS recently announced that clinicians impacted by Hurricanes Helene (FL, GA, NC, SC, TN) and Francine (LA.) will qualify for the MIPS automatic Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances (EUC) Exception for the 2024 performance year.

On September 23, 2024, HRS issued a policy statement on Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (AF).

HRS efforts to secure reimbursement for PFA appeared to have achieved some success as Aetna revised the policy for Cardiac Catheter Ablation and Radioablation.

HRS joined as a supporting organization of a bipartisan Dear Colleague letter currently circulating on Capitol Hill.

Earlier this year, HRS and over 200 organizations signed a joint letter urging Congress to extend expiring telehealth flexibilities, and more recently, encouraged CMS in a comment letter to work with Congress to maintain such flexibilities.

In mid-September 2024, the office of U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX) shared with HRS and other medical societies draft legislation to establish reforms to the structure, responsibility, and governance of the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC).