Washington, D.C. – The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), along with over 100 national and state medical societies, are calling on Congress to include bipartisan legislation addressing the 2025 Medicare physician payment cuts in the full-year Continuing Resolution (CR).
In a , the organizations urged lawmakers to take immediate action to protect patient access by fixing these cuts and ensuring Medicare payment relief is included before the final vote.
“Physicians are there for patients in decisive moments and now need Congress to step up when it matters,” said Alex Khalessi, MD, MBA, Chair of the AANS/CNS Washington Committee. “The annual Medicare Physician Fee Schedule adjustments threaten physician practice, particularly in rural and underserved areas. We implore Congress to include a fix in their final spending package and protect patients from a consolidation tipping point—one where access to high-value care settings may not survive.”
The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025 () was introduced by Rep. Greg Murphy, MD (R-N.C.) and is co-led by Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), John Joyce, MD (R-Pa.), Kim Schrier, MD (D-Wash.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-Iowa), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Raul Ruiz, MD (D-Calif.), Carol D. Miller (R-W.Va.), Ami Bera, MD (D-Calif.), Jefferson Van Drew, DMD (R-N.J.), Andy Harris, MD (R-Md.), and Richard McCormick, MD (R-Ga.).
Last Congress, a bipartisan funding package that included a payment fix was nearly passed in December. A bipartisan group of Senators introduced last summer to join House efforts. It was led by Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Roger Marshall, MD (R-Kan.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). The legislation would mitigate the harmful cuts that took effect on January 1 and provide critical stability for physician practices.
The AANS and CNS urge the House of Representatives to insist on protecting Medicare patients by adding a fix for physician payment cuts to the full-year CR before the vote.
To read the statement, click .
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