The American Medical Association (AMA), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and more than 100 medical societies have called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to mitigate Medicare cuts that will adversely impact specialty physicians in 2021.
The CAP has persistently asked the administration, as well as Congress, to stop the cuts, which will amount to a -8 percent Medicare decrease to pathologists next year.
In the July 1 letter led by the AMA, the groups said they’re “concerned that the financial instability created by this [COVID-19] public health crisis will be exacerbated by budget neutrality adjustments required when CMS implements a widely supported Medicare office visit payment policy finalized for 2021.”
In November of 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a changes and payment increases to evaluation and management (E/M) services. These changes take effect in January 2021. Due to budget neutrality requirements, the change will reduce payments to non-E/M services beginning next year. The CMS decided that physicians, such as primary care doctors, should be paid more to reflect their work and the value they provide to patient care. To accomplish this and comply with budget neutrality requirements, the CMS will shift funds from specialists, like pathologists, who do not bill E/M codes.
“To impose cuts of this magnitude during or immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, including steep cuts to many of the specialties that have been on the front lines in efforts to treat patients in places with widespread infection, is unconscionable,” the letter said. “For these reasons, our organizations strongly urge HHS to use its authorities and flexibilities under the public health emergency to implement the office visit increases and waive the requirement for CMS to adjust Medicare physician payments for budget neutrality.”
The CAP launched a summer campaign of virtual advocacy demanding that Congress delay, mitigate, or cancel the -8 percent Medicare cut for pathology services that will take effect on January 2021. Congress can stop this cut by waiving budget neutrality for Medicare E/M services. The CAP is asking its members to use this form to sign up for advocacy activities.
