Close to 50 medical organizations representing 1.4 million physicians and other clinicians are pressing CMS to amend the physician fee schedule (PFS) the agency has proposed for Medicare in 2021.
In a letter sent to CMS Administrator Seema Verma Oct. 5, the representative signatories make the case that it makes little sense to “put forth drastic reductions to reimbursement at a time when both Congress and HHS are focused on engaging patients, increasing the delivery of integrated, team-based care, expanding chronic disease management, and reducing hospital admission/readmission rates for [Medicare] beneficiaries residing in the community as well as those in long-term nursing facilities.”
The organizations standing up to be heard include such heavy hitters as the American College of Radiology, American College of Surgeons and Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.
“CMS must recognize how the reimbursement reductions of our providers fail to align with CMS’ efforts to drive better patient access to care and management,” the authors of the letter urge.
For its part, CMS maintains that the proposed PFS adjustments, which incorporate input from the American Medical Association, will “help to ensure that CMS is appropriately recognizing the kind of care where clinicians need to spend more face-to-face time with patients, like primary care and complex or chronic disease management.”
The new schedule would reward some specialists with payment increases (endocrinologists, rheumatologists, oncologists and others) while, in effect, punishing others with cuts (nurse anesthesists, radiologists, cardiac surgeons and others).
No surprise, then, that some groups are adding to the pressure on CMS by issuing statements on behalf of their own discrete constituencies.
In a news release from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, for example, Joseph A. Bosco III, MD, the president of that group, says now “is not the time to reduce payment and imperil access to high quality musculoskeletal care. AAOS strongly urges CMS to maintain the current funding levels. This is critical to preserving access to patient care in the wake of the COVID-19 public health emergency.”
As noted by Joyce Frieden, head of the Washington desk at MedPage Today, bipartisan legislation has been introduced to head off the looming Medicare payment cuts.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.