Doctors demand transparency on impact of Medicare payment cuts

Doctors have seethed over planned reductions in Medicare payments to physicians, and now they are saying the public needs to be aware of the impact of those cuts.

The American Medical Association is calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to be more transparent about the impact of the cuts in payments to doctors. The CMS has proposed a 2.8% reduction in Medicare payments to physicians, continuing a string of cuts in recent years. Doctors are especially disappointed since the Medicare Economic Index, which is the cost of inflation faced by doctors, is projected to rise 3.6% in the coming year.

The AMA is continuing to push for higher Medicare payments for physicians in 2025. In a letter sent to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure last week, the AMA is pressing for higher payments and warning that reducing payments could ultimately lead to patients having less access to care.

“This proposed rule is silent on the impact of the growing gap between what Medicare pays for care and what it costs to provide that care,” the letter stated. “A chorus of authorities on the Medicare program has expressed concern about the ability of patients to continue receiving high-quality care as physician payments erode.”

The AMA letter states that it’s unfair to cut payments to doctors even as they face higher costs in paying clinical and administrative staff and other expenses such as paying for rent and buying supplies.

Some doctors may ultimately choose to stop accepting Medicare patients, the AMA says.

The AMA makes the case that reduced physician payments have already had an impact on patient care.

The AMA letter cites a statement from an emergency medicine physician in Ohio, who says that more patients are showing up in emergency departments because they’re finding it difficult to get care from primary or specialty care doctors. Some of those doctors have reduced hours or stopped taking Medicare patients.

“The 2025 cuts compound across-the-board cuts in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, AND are not sustainable for physicians and their patients, and risk jeopardizing the Administration’s priorities and access to critical services,” the letter states.

Even as the federal government works to improve maternal health, Medicare’s payments for obstetric care through pregnancy and the postpartum period dropped 0.6% in 2024, compared to the previous year, the AMA said in the letter.

The American Academy of Family Physicians have urged lawmakers to improve Medicare payments to doctors. Steven P. Furr, MD, the AAFP’s president, said in a news release that the proposed cut in payments “once again highlights the urgent need for congressional action to ensure that physician payments keep up with the costs of running a practice.”

Lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation tying Medicare’s payments to physicians to increases in the Medicare Economic Index. The legislation (H.R. 2474) is dubbed the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act.

Hospitals have also bemoaned Medicare’s proposed payments for 2025. The CMS has proposed a 2.6% increase in payments for inpatient services and a 2.6% bump in payments for outpatient services in 2025.