American Medical Association’s Post

🏥 Urgent Call to Action: Save Medicare Now! 🏥 🚨 Medicare is at a crossroads! A 3.37% cut this year is forcing many doctors to stop accepting Medicare patients. The cost of running a medical practice has skyrocketed by 47% since 2001, while Medicare payments to physicians have barely increased. This imbalance is causing a healthcare crisis, especially in rural and underserved areas. 👩⚕️👨⚕️ The situation is dire. Physicians, the backbone of our healthcare system, are struggling. They're the only Medicare providers not receiving annual inflationary updates, making it tough to pay staff, buy equipment, and maintain practices. 👵👴 This isn't just about numbers; it's about real people's lives. Dr. Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, AMA president, shares a personal story: his parents struggled to find a new physician. This could be anyone's story. ✊ But there's hope! The "Preserving Seniors’ Access to Physicians Act of 2023" aims to reverse these cuts. We can make a difference! 📢 Act now: Visit FixMedicareNow.org. Contact your Congress member. Support H.R.6683 to protect Medicare patients. 🔗 Learn more: FixMedicareNow.org #SaveMedicare #HealthCareCrisis #ActNow #FixMedicareNow

On August 10, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the 2022 MIPS performance feedback, including the physician’s final score and 2024 MIPS payment adjustment information, based on the data submitted and calculated for the 2022 performance year. This data is used to determine whether physicians will receive a positive, neutral, or negative payment adjustment on Medicare services furnished in 2024. Alarmingly, the AMA has heard reports of physicians who will face MIPS penalties in 2024 for the first time since the program started. Can you help us advocate against Medicare physician payment cuts in 2024 by sharing this information? If you have not yet requested a targeted review, it is not too late but you must first sign in to review your feedback. Read more in #MedChiNews - https://lnkd.in/eXxCGEuX

Note: This is not a political post, so please comment wisely. Ms. Haley has a point here. Medicare Advantage has significantly lower hospital and home health utilization rates compared to Medicare. Ms. Haley noted that the Medicare hospital trust fund will run dry by 2031, at the current rate. If the entire Medicare population was on Medicare Advantage, with the optimal utilization rates the trust fund can survive without more tax payer dollars till 2048. https://lnkd.in/eA9AjJy8

Have you seen a recent increase in Medicare reimbursements? 🤝 If you missed the news, Medicare payments beginning with March 9, 2024, dates of service received a slight bump recently after CMS updated the 2024 payment conversion factor (CF).  This increase is the result of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which included an additional 1.68% update to the 2024 CF that offset a portion of the 3.37% cut to physician payments that initially went into effect this year. The 2024 conversion factor for dates of service from Jan. 1 through March 8, 2024, was $32.74. The new conversion factor of $33.2875 is now effective for dates of service from March 9 through Dec. 31, 2024. That means now is a good time to review new claims to ensure you're being reimbursed correctly! 💡 💲 #Medicare #RCM #medicalbilling #audit #pathology

🚨🚀 Big Changes Coming to Medicare Part D in 2024 and 2025 Under the Inflation Reduction Act! 🚀🚨 As healthcare continues to evolve, it's crucial for current and prospective Medicare enrollees to stay informed about new developments. The changes under the Inflation Reduction Act are set to bring notable benefits for Medicare Part D enrollees. Here's what you need to know: 🔍 **What’s changing?** - **Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs:** Starting in 2024, a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap will be established, easing financial burdens for many enrollees. - **Price Negotiations:** Medicare will now be able to negotiate the prices of certain high-cost drugs, ultimately reducing costs for enrollees. - **Expanded Coverage:** Additional benefits are slated to begin in 2025, including increased subsidy levels for low-income enrollees. 📈 **How Will These Changes Benefit You?** - **Financial Relief:** The $2,000 cap will reduce stress related to high prescription costs. Say goodbye to unexpectedly high bills! - **Affordable Medication:** With Medicare negotiating drug prices, the cost of essential medications will be more manageable. - **Greater Access:** Enhanced access to medications and services means better health outcomes, especially for those on limited incomes. 🔗 **Why It Matters:** Health equity and affordability are central to these updates. It ensures that all enrollees have a better quality of life without the looming worry of escalating healthcare costs. 💬 Have your thoughts? Let’s discuss how these changes might impact you or your loved ones! Share your insights or questions below. 🌟 #Medicare #HealthcareReform #InflationReductionAct #MedicarePartD #HealthcareSavings #TwoAgenciesInc --- This post sums up the substantial alterations coming to Medicare Part D, contextualizing their benefits in an informative yet engaging manner. Stay proactive and stay informed! 📚✨

Medicare plans to cut physician reimbursement by 3.4% in 2024! Decrease reimbursements combined with escalating cost of labor & other direct & indirect cost of practice is forcing physicians into early retirement or just leaving practice. Medicare reimbursement has declined by 26%, not even attempting to keep pace with inflation. Growing numbers of providers are reacting by refusing to accept Medicare patients. Layered on top is the reality that about one-quarter of American adults are on Medicare & numbers are growing. Means challenges finding a provider for Medicare patients. Burn out & a failing business model where providers do not control reimbursement. So no matter how much the cost of practice increases, the reimbursement levers controlled by CMS & insurers are reducing payments. The ACA from its passage, was never funded to cover the millions of people added to the system with no additional funds allocated. Cuttting reimbursements and fining hospitals and providers was the funding plan for the ACA. So, here we sit with an impending crisis and teethering collapse…. Hospital & practice closures. It’s not a sustainable model. American Medical Association Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) National Medical Association ACGME

We have seen fantastic momentum in the 118th US Congress for legislative fixes to many of the challenges community oncology and independent providers face, such as improving Medicare doctor pay, stopping PBM abuses, and reforming the 340B program. But will they see the finish line? "Members of Congress headed home for the summer over the weekend, leaving the us in an all-too-familiar position: Wondering how key priorities will turn out after lawmakers failed to address them in the first part off the year." Make no mistake about it: Congress still has a LOT of work ahead of it. We still need to see movement to improve physician payments, address cuts in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, reform #PBM practices, address #hospital #consolidation, and #fix340B to ensure the #340B program truly benefits patients in need. If they see the finish line the proposed changes before Congress could be a huge breakthrough. But nothing is guaranteed in an election year or lame duck session. That is why it is critical that independent #communityoncology practices, professionals, and patient advocates stay informed and engaged in legislative efforts to ensure that the policies we support become reality Get an update on what remains to be addressed in this piece by Alex Kacik in Modern Healthcare https://lnkd.in/etvFBsuN

Medicare Conversion Rate Increased!!! 🙂 The President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, adding 1.68% to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule beginning on March 9, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024. This partially addresses the 3.37% cut to the Medicare conversion factor that took effect Jan. 1, and leaves a 1.69% reduction in place for the rest of the year. The conversion factor for Jan. 1 to March 8 was $32.7442. The conversion factor for March 9 to Dec. 31 is $33.2875. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its website to reflect this change, and MGMA updated its analysis of the final 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. #medicare #conversionfactor #physicians

The proposed Medicare cuts are bad policy, bad timing and bad for patients. These cuts threaten patients' access to care, worsen an already unsustainable trend, and may penalize physicians unfairly. Urgent reform is needed. It's time to #FixMedicareNow.

The proposed Medicare cuts are bad policy, bad timing and bad for patients. These cuts threaten patients' access to care, worsen an already unsustainable trend, and may penalize physicians unfairly. Urgent reform is needed. It's time to #FixMedicareNow.