The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency responsible for running Medicare and Medicaid within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), arguably issues the most regulations that have a direct impact on emergency physicians. Their annual Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS) regulation includes proposals that affect Medicare payments—which serve as the basis for which many private payors set their reimbursement rates.
August 2020: CMS published a proposed rule impacting Medicare physician payments for 2021. For a high-level summary of the rule click here and for ACEP’s full summary please click here.
Of utmost concern is a potential 6 percent pay cut to emergency medicine physicians in 2021 due to the budget neutrality adjustment to the physician fee schedule conversion factor. ACEP was already able to successfully shave off some of the reduction to emergency medicine. However, more work needs to be done. We fundamentally believe that it is unacceptable for emergency physicians to face a pay cut during a pandemic!
Just hours after CMS released the proposed rule, ACEP sent a letter to key committees in Congress requesting that Congress waive the budget neutrality requirement.
What can you do?
Urge your member of Congress to waive the budget neutrality requirement for calendar years 2021 and 2022.
Congress is already juggling many other priorities as a result of the pandemic and pressure from the upcoming November elections. It is essential that they hear directly from emergency physicians in their district just how devastating these cuts could be for access to emergency care for patients across the country.
Click here to send a message to your member of Congress today.
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