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- CAP Applauds Introduction of Physician Fee Stabilization Act in Senate
On September 3, the CAP issued a press release commending the introduction of the Physician Fee Stabilization Act in the US Senate and urged Congress to enact the legislation to help prevent across-the-board Medicare cuts to physicians in future years. CAP President Donald Karcher, MD, FCAP, issued the following statement thanking sponsors Sens. John Boozman (R-AR), Peter Welch (D-VT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Angus King (I-ME), Roger Marshall, MD (R-KS), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) following the bill’s introduction:
“We are encouraged that Congress is considering long-term fixes to Medicare’s broken payment system, which has cut reimbursements for physician services year after year. Coupled with the absence of an annual update for inflation, reductions to reimbursement unrelated to the actual cost of providing care have no place in the Medicare program. The Physician Fee Stabilization Act would be a crucial step toward stabilizing the Medicare program for patients and the physicians providing care for them. The CAP appreciates the work of Sens. Boozman, Welch, Tillis, King, Marshall, and Shaheen for leading the introduction of this important bill in the Senate.”
The Physician Fee Stabilization Act would increase the budget neutrality threshold from $20 million to $53 million, followed by updated increases every 5 years to keep pace with the Medicare Economic Index. The last update to the threshold was in 1992.
In addition to the CAP, the American Medical Association and numerous other medical associations are supporting the legislation. Read the press release here.