Take action to prevent Medicare payment cuts in 2022
397 actions taken
3 needed to reach next goal
Health care
professionals are facing imminent payment cuts of up to 9.75 percent stemming from Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) adjustments as
well as the Medicare sequester and the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act. Congress took action in passing the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 to mitigate the impact of payment cuts initiated
by the CY 2021 PFS. The Consolidated Appropriations Act contained
a 3.75 percent payment adjustment for all PFS services in CY 2021 as part of
the congressional relief provided for the impending payment cuts. This payment
adjustment afforded some short-term stability for health care professionals
struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This critical piece
of congressional relief is expiring at the end of the calendar year and adds to
impending cuts resulting from the expiring moratorium on the 2 percent Medicare
sequester cut and the 4 percent Medicare payment cut due to PAYGO, which was
triggered by the passage of the American Rescue Plan. The combined impact of
the PFS cut, Medicare sequester, and PAYGO means that all health care
professionals are likely facing at least 9.75 percent in cuts to Medicare
payment unless Congress takes action.
As Congress considers a framework to
ensure appropriate reimbursements and improve the Medicare payment system
broadly, lawmakers must act before the end of the year to avert the imminent cuts,
including extending the 3.75 percent payment adjustment, and provide continued
stability for physicians and other health care professionals. Otherwise,
the profound exhaustion from the pandemic combined with the stress of
uncertainty in payments may lead to further retirements, office closures, or
reduced staffing, ultimately limiting patient access to care.
Take action by contacting your lawmaker to share how these cuts could jeopardize patient care or negatively impact your practice.