URGENT! Contact your Member of Congress immediately to cancel the Medicare payment cut!
Congress has decided to include any year-end Medicare payment issues in its must-pass bill to keep the federal government operating. Congress must pass this legislation by November 17 to avoid a government shutdown. Therefore, we must act now to demand positive changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2024.
Due to budget neutrality rules, the 2024 fee schedule includes a harmful 3.4% payment cut that will take effect if Congress does not act. With an expected 4.6% rise in health care inflation this year, the cut will be devastating for physician practices and patient access to care in California.
To make matters worse, physicians are the only Medicare providers whose payments do not automatically receive an annual inflationary update, which means we will not receive a 4.6% update in 2024 like other health care providers. Because of this major flaw in the payment system, Medicare physician payments have lagged 26% behind the rate of inflation since 2001.
The California Medical Association, American Medical Association and all of organized medicine are uniting to urge Congress to stop the 3.4% payment cut and provide an inflation update for 2024.
Take Action: Congress needs to act NOW – tell your legislators to fix the flawed Medicare physician payment system and cancel the cut!
Read More: For more information, see CMA’s letter to Congress.