06/14/2023

OSMA Supports AMA “Fix Medicare Now” Initiative

In addition to reforming prior authorization at the state and federal level, OSMA joins the AMA and organized medicine across the country to fix major flaws in the Medicare physician fee schedule.

Earlier this year, OSMA staff and physician leaders were in Washington meeting with members of the Ohio Congressional Delegation pushing for Medicare payment reforms. Now the AMA is launching the fixmedicarenow.org to focus physician advocacy efforts from across the country on Medicare payment reform. If you haven’t done so already we encourage you to make your voice heard. We will continue to update you on the important advocacy effort throughout the year.

Below is the full statement from the AMA about this week’s important announcement:

The AMA is proud to announce fixmedicarenow.org; your one-stop-shop for all the information, resources and ways you can make your voice heard to ensure that Congress works to address the critical issues physicians, and their patients, face due to the flawed Medicare physician payment system.

Did you know that physicians are the only providers whose Medicare payments do not automatically receive an annual inflationary update and as a result, Medicare physician payments have lagged 26% behind the rate of inflation growth since 2001? During this current period of record inflation and coming on the heels of a highly disruptive pandemic, this statutory flaw often amplifies the impact of other payment policy changes like "budget neutrality" adjustments, performance incentives, and so forth.

We've been fighting for Medicare physician payment reform for well over a decade, and the system remains on an unsustainable path. Temporary patches and ongoing cuts to the Medicare physician payment system have left patient access to care at serious risk.

Please visit fixmedicarenow.org today and learn more about the broken physician payment system and what Congress can do to fix it. From confronting payment inequities and injecting more financial stability into physician practices to allowing them to invest in new ways of providing care and ultimately assuring Medicare beneficiaries have access to high-quality care.