The American Medical Association backed the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's recommendations for Congress to reform Medicare payments.
The AMA supported the recommendations made to Congress regarding the Medicare physician fee schedule, which has decreased Medicare physician payment by 29% from 2001 to 2024, when adjusted for inflation, Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, president of the AMA, wrote in an April 15 news release from the AMA.
"Congressional leaders are recommending the end of this era of pay cuts and patches," Dr. Ehrenfeld said. "We hope so and urge Congress to pass the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act and tie future updates to the full Medicare Economic Index. Health care experts across the ideological spectrum have correctly diagnosed the problem. In the coming months, we hope to turn that diagnosis into a Medicare reform cure."