To Preserve Access to Care, Congress Must Repair Medicare’s Broken Payment System

AJMC January 8, 2024
Christina Downey, MD

The author, chair of the Government Affairs Committee with the American College of Rheumatology, calls for support for efforts in Congress to reform the Physician Fee Schedule.

Every year, we witness an alarming decline in the number of doctors offering essential care services. This worrisome trend is partly fueled by many doctors leaving independent small practices, which are being forced to cut back services due to soaring costs, high inflation, and government reimbursement rates below the cost of care.

This growing financial instability in the Medicare physician payment system threatens physicians’ ability to keep their doors open. It is evident that without congressional intervention to safeguard patients’ access to their doctors, the problem will only continue to worsen. By modernizing...

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