Newswise — Washington, DC—Today, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) announced their strong support for a bipartisan letter led by U.S. Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD, (R-Iowa), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Greg Murphy, MD, (R-N.C.), Raul Ruiz, MD, (D-Calif.), Larry Bucshon, MD, (R-Ind.), Kim Schrier, MD, (D-Wash.), John Joyce, MD, (R-Pa.), and Ami Bera, MD, (D-Calif.) urging House Leadership to prevent a 2.8% Medicare payment cut. Outlined in the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), this cut will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, absent federal legislation.
The letter to House Leadership urges swift legislative action to replace impending cuts to Medicare with a payment update that reflects inflationary pressures associated with running a practice. For the fifth consecutive year, CMS has proposed cuts to Medicare payments, putting additional strain on health care providers. While Congress has stepped in the past four years to pass legislation to mitigate portions of these cuts, a long-term solution is urgently needed. More than half of the House, 233 bipartisan members, signed the letter. The AANS and the CNS lobbied members of the House to co-sign the letter.
“Year after year, Medicare payment cuts jeopardize the viability of physician practices. It is time to stop consolidation and protect access to quality care for patients, especially those in rural or underserved communities. Congress must prevent future cuts and focus on sustainable, long-term solutions,” said Russell R. Lonser, MD, FAANS, chair of the AANS/CNS Washington Committee.
Medicare payment rates have fallen by 29% over the last two decades when adjusting for the costs of running a practice. The Medicare physician payment system is on an unsustainable path that has failed to keep up with inflation over the years. Bipartisan lawmakers have proposed solutions, including a permanent, annual inflationary update to the MPFS.
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The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), founded in 1931, and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), founded in 1951, are the two largest scientific and educational associations for neurosurgical professionals in the world. These groups represent over 10,000 neurosurgeons worldwide. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system, including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves. For more information, please visit www.aans.org, www.cns.org and www.neurosurgery.org.
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