Bill’s sponsors on Medicare cut: ‘The future of private practice is in dire straights’ 

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers in the House of Representatives has introduced a bill to stop the 2.83% cut in Medicare payments to stabilize physician practices and protect access to care. 

The “Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act,” introduced by Reps. Greg Murphy, M.D., R-N.C., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., along with eight other House members, would prospectively cancel the 2.83% cut that went into effect Jan. 1. 

“Physicians in America are facing unprecedented financial viability challenges due to continued Medicare cuts,” Murphy said. “Access to affordable and quality health care for millions of seniors is in severe jeopardy. Doctors see Medicare patients out of compassion, not for financial gain. The cost of caring for a Medicare patient far outpaces the reimbursement that physicians receive for seeing them. On top of that, the expense of providing care continues to rise due to medical inflation. This inflation, coupled with declining reimbursement rates, creates enormous financial pressures on physicians, forcing many to retire early, stop accepting new Medicare patients, or sell out to larger, consolidated hospital systems, private equity or even insurance companies. The future of private practice medicine, the most cost-efficient and personalized care, is in dire straits. This bipartisan legislation prevents further cuts, provides a modest inflationary adjustment to help ease the cost of care, and ensures Medicare remains viable for both doctors and patients." 

A similar bill failed to get passed during the lame-duck session late last year. 

The American Medical Association supports the bill and is pushing to get it passed as part of upcoming legislation to fund the federal government beyond a March 14 statutory deadline. 

“This legislation would begin to roll back the cuts physician practices have faced over the last four years while we all have experienced high inflation,” said AMA President Bruce A. Scott, M.D. “As evidenced by this bipartisan legislation, lawmakers know the trend is unsustainable and, if left unaddressed, will ultimately harm their constituents. Patient access to care and practice sustainability are not partisan or geographical issues. It’s an urgent national issue that demands immediate attention from Congress.” 

 According to an AMA analysis of data from the Medicare Trustees Report and the Federal Register, Medicare physician payments increased by only 7% between 2001 and 2025, or just 0.3% per year. Meanwhile, the cost of running a medical practice – which includes everything from office rent and staff salaries to electronic medical records and liability insurance premiums – rose by 59%. 

“The clock is ticking,” Scott said. “The continuing resolution expires on March 14. Physicians are healers first, but we are asking them to become vocal advocates for their patients over the next 45 days by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to include this bill in the next spending package. Patients, particularly Medicare recipients and anyone with a family member on Medicare, should do likewise.”