Newswise — WASHINGTON, DC (March 10, 2025): More than 100 physician organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, are urging members of the United States House of Representatives to insist that their leadership include language preventing the 2025 Medicare physician payment cut be added to the full year Continuing Resolution (CR) under consideration.
The CR, released this weekend, fails to address the Medicare physician payment cut that went into effect January 1. Each year since 2020, physicians have faced financial uncertainty due to . Congress has previously stepped in and mitigated the impact of these cuts and was poised to do so again last year. Last December, a bipartisan funding package that addressed the 2025 payment cut was hours away from passing until it was pulled at the last minute.
While cuts to Medicare physician payments directly impact doctors, they ultimately impact access to care for patients. Many physicians are unable to maintain independent practices due to payment cuts over the last several years. As a result, some physicians are closing or selling their practices.
Bipartisan legislation, HR 879 – The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025, would stop the cut that took effect on January 1, 2025, and provide a 2% inflationary update (approximately half of the Medicare Economic Index) for 2025. Including this language in the CR would provide stability to physicians’ practices across the country who are struggling to keep up with the cost of providing care.
H.R. 879 was introduced by Representatives Greg Murphy, MD (R-NC-03), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), John Joyce, MD (R-PA-13), Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA-25), Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-IA-01), Kim Schrier, MD (D-WA-08), Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), Ami Bera, MD (D-CA-06), Carol Miller (R-WV-01), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08). In total, more than 100 Members of the House have cosponsored H.R. 879.
The more than 100 physician organizations said it is time to take a stand to protect Medicare patient access by insisting language addressing the 2025 Medicare physician payment cut be added to the full year CR before the vote takes place.
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About the American College of Surgeons
The (ACS) is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The ACS is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The ACS has approximately 90,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. “FACS” designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the ACS.
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