ASA Joins Statement on Medicare Payment Challenges Facing Surgical Care

In anticipation of a lame duck Congressional debate about Medicare payments, ASA has joined with leading national surgical organizations in releasing a formal document urging fundamental reforms to the Medicare physician payment system. The signatories of the document, collectively known as the Surgical Coalition, expressed support for adding a mandatory annual inflation adjustment to Medicare physician fees and restructuring the punitive budget neutrality mechanism, among other reforms.

The July release of the proposed FY 2025 Medicare physician payment rule highlighted the need for reforms to the Medicare payment system. Of particular note, the proposed rule again projected payment cuts of over 2% for both the Medicare RBRVS conversion factor and the anesthesia conversion factor.

Under the current Congressional calendar, both Houses of Congress will adjourn at the end of September for a campaign sprint until Election Day, November 5th. Both Houses will return to Washington, DC for a post-election lame duck session during which consideration of the Medicare payment issue is expected.