Congress Contemplates Medicare Physician Payment Turbulence as Release of CY 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule Nears

With the calendar year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule estimated for release at the beginning of July, Congress is starting to consider what steps it might potentially take to avert expected 2024 payment year cuts. In advance of an expected decrease in the 2024 MPFS conversion factor, Congress has already enacted a 2024 boost to the conversion factor of 1.25%. However, this replaces a 2023 boost of 2.5%, which, if unchanged, will result in a 1.25% dip in the conversion factor even before other expected cuts are incorporated.

On June 22nd, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing designed, according to a committee memo, "to conduct oversight on the implementation and effectiveness of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), which aimed to shift the focus from volume, or quantity, to value, or quality, in health care." In a sign of support for highlighting these issues, at least 16 House members were in attendance, including several physician non-Committee members of Congress. The hearing offered an opportunity to discuss the need to make improvements to MACRA, although it remains unclear whether and when Congress will be able to pass any long-term reforms to the physician reimbursement model. The House committee is planning a hearing on Innovation and Medicare for the week of July 17th.

HRS will continue to provide member updates and opportunities for advocacy engagement as Congress looks at short-term and longer-term fixes for the MPFS. As part of the physician community's collective effort to advocate for stabilization of the MPFS, the AMA recently launched a new website to help physicians engage with their members of Congress on the issue. 

For more information, visit fixmedicarenow.org.