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Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Archives - Neurosurgery Blog

Cross-Post: Medicare cuts ensure disaster to doctor-patient relationship

By Congress, Cross PostNo Comments

On the Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places when we believe they may interest our readers. In case you missed it, we wanted to bring attention to a recent op-ed by Reps. Greg Murphy, MD, (R-N.C.), Brad Wenstrup, DPM, (R-Ohio) and Michael Burgess, MD, (R-Texas) in Washington Times titled, “Medicare cuts ensure disaster to doctor-patient relationship.” On Jan. 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services cut payments to physicians by nearly 3.4% for services rendered to Medicare patients, which will cripple independent physicians and rural health care providers across the country.

Reps. Murphy, Wenstrup and Burgess, members of the GOP Doctors Caucus, are greatly troubled by another round of payment cuts to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, “It is our goal to navigate the ever-increasing challenges facing those who try to provide care for Medicare recipients.” In anticipation of this rule, the GOP Doctors Caucus introduced legislation seeking to reform the physician fee schedule, prevent extreme fluctuations in future reimbursement and update how costs are determined.

Efforts continue to press Congress to halt these cuts as soon as possible.

Click here to read the article.

We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #FixMedicareNow.

January 12, 2024
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Neurosurgeons Putting Patients First

By Access to Care, Faces of Neurosurgery, Health Reform, MedicareNo Comments

The Medicare physician payment system is on an unsustainable path that has failed to keep up with inflation over the years, threatening patient access to care. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) are actively engaged in preventing steep Medicare payment cuts and preserving patient access to care through the Surgical Care Coalition. The coalition is in year three of its campaign to stop these cuts and implement lasting changes to the physician payment and quality improvement systems.

On Jan. 1, 2023, neurosurgeons face a minimum 8.5% Medicare payment cut, including a nearly 4.5% cut for all Medicare Physician Fee Schedule services and a 4% Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act cut, triggered due to new federal spending. After successfully protecting patients’ timely access to quality surgical care in 2020 and 2021 by securing Congressional action to mitigate proposed cuts to Medicare, the coalition is fighting against similar cuts proposed for 2023. The AANS and the CNS are also working with Congress on long-term solutions to fix these broken systems. To that end, we submitted detailed comments in response to a Congressional request for information.

The people who the proposed cuts will most impact are our patients. Every day, neurosurgeons take care of some of the sickest patients who face painful and life-threatening neurologic conditions. Alexander A. Khalessi, MD, FAANS, John K. Ratliff, MD, FAANS and Maya A. Babu, MD, FAANS, share their experiences as neurosurgeons and how the cuts will impact neurosurgical practices and their patients. The videos are available as follows:

Patient Process

Why I Became a Surgeon

Earning a Patient’s Trust

Medicare Cuts are Back

Patients Deserve Timely, Quality Care

Editor’s Note: We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and @SurgeonsCare.

November 9, 2022
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Cross-Post: Why Is It Hard for Grandma To See Her Doctor?

By Cross Post, MedicareNo Comments

From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places that may be of interest to our readers. Today’s post originally appeared on AL.com on Nov. 1, titled “Why is it hard for grandma to see her doctor?” In the op-ed, Richard Menger, MD, MPA, assistant professor of neurosurgery and political science at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., discusses how steep Medicare physician payment cuts scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, are not a good prescription for a healthy physician workforce.

The average physician will receive 8.5% less for providing the same services they did last year. While adjusting for inflation, Medicare payments to physicians have declined 22% from 2001-2021. According to Dr. Menger, “The people most impacted by these cuts will be our Medicare patients. In the backdrop of inflation, practices will not be able to sustain themselves by treating Medicare patients.” Dr. Menger concludes by stating that this puts seniors at risk for reduced access to care.

Click here to read the full article.

Editor’s Note: We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery.

November 3, 2022
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Cross-Post: A Way Forward For The Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria Program: Aligning Quality Metrics

By Cross Post, Health Reform, MedicareNo Comments

From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places when we believe they hit the mark on an issue. Today’s post originally appeared in Health Affairs on Aug. 26, 2021. The article, “A Way Forward For The Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria Program: Aligning Quality Metrics,” discusses proposed changes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) calendar year 2022 proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Rule and implementation of the Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) program. Mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA), the AUC program requires physicians ordering advanced diagnostic imaging to consult with AUC using an approved clinical decision support mechanism before the radiologist can provide the scan.

As the Health Affairs piece points out, following the release of the  PFS, the House Appropriations Health Subcommittee included in its report a provision for CMS to inform Congress about the implementation of the AUC program, including any challenges and successes. The AANS and the CNS have urged Congress to repeal the AUC program, given the additional burdens on physicians and potential delays in imaging services. At the very least, the neurosurgical societies have recommended that Congress adopt legislation that directs CMS to incorporate AUC for diagnostic imaging into the existing Quality Payment Program.

Click here to read the full article in Health Affairs.

Editor’s Note: We encourage everyone to join the conversation online by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtags #Neurosurgery and #Medicare.

September 13, 2021
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