Dear Leader McConnell and Speaker Pelosi:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, thank you for your swift efforts to provide relief for
the immediate and escalating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As you move forward with
crafting additional relief packages, we urge you to include provisions to fortify the long-term
financial stability of physician and non-physician practices across the health care delivery
system.
As you are likely aware, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final Medicare
Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) rule for CY 2020 included broad changes to reduce
administrative burden, improve payment rates, and reflect current clinical practice, especially as
it relates to evaluation and management services (E/M). Our organizations appreciate CMS’
commitment to reducing physician burden and documentation requirements and support the
AMA’s purposeful approach to restructuring and revaluing the office-based E/M codes and the
concordant planned increases in primary care payments these updates shall provide. However,
we are deeply concerned about the sizable cuts this update will impose as a result of the current
requirement for budget neutrality upon various sections of the provider community who do not
frequently, if ever, bill E/M codes. Notwithstanding the current COVID-19 crisis, many
healthcare providers were already concerned about the impact of these policy changes on their
patients and their practices.
Read full letter here
