New Bipartisan Senate Workgroup on Medicare Payment

March 8, 2024 – Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) recently announced the formation of a working group to investigate and propose long-term reforms to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and make necessary updates to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

The working group plans to reach out to stakeholders in the coming weeks to seek feedback and begin developing policies that will address Medicare physician payment in the long-term. The formation of the working group follows the 3.37% reduction to Medicare physician payments that went into effect on January 1, 2024.

Members of both the Senate and House of Representatives have sent letters in recent weeks pressing congressional leadership to act to address the Medicare physician payment cuts. The House letter was signed by 88 members of Congress, and the Senate outreach garnered 32 signatories. The letters each recognize both the need for long-term legislative solutions to reform the Medicare physician payment system, as well as the need to provide short-term relief from the latest cuts to Medicare payments.