{"id":3128,"date":"2024-10-26T17:30:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-26T17:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zenmedinc.com\/blog\/?p=3128"},"modified":"2024-12-07T12:58:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T12:58:10","slug":"cuts-to-the-medicare-physician-fee-schedule-mpfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenmedinc.com\/blog\/cuts-to-the-medicare-physician-fee-schedule-mpfs\/","title":{"rendered":"CONSEQUENCES OF CUTTING MEDICARE PHYSICIAN REIMBURSEMENT IN 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Every year the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), rolls out a new proposal of cuts to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule or (MPFS), and on July 10, 2024, CMS did just that, they rolled out a rather shocking reduction of 2.8% to the MPFS for January 1, 2025 and it has set the healthcare community on fire. The proposed rule amounts to an estimated MPFS conversion factor of $32.36, a decrease of $0.93 (or 2.80%) for 2025, down from the current 2024 conversion factor of $33.29. As of 10\/23\/24, there are 69 days left until the MPFS is cut by 28%, so it is vital that everyone in the healthcare community understands and gets involved to mitigate this potentially crushing financial blow.<\/span><\/p>

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The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) surveyed 64,271 physicians and other clinicians regarding the proposed MPFS cut for 2025 on how they would handle this potential crushing blow to their reimbursement \u2013 AMGA President and CEO, Jerry Penso, MD, MBA said that \u201c Congress must ensure a stable Medicare program that does not continue to cut payments to providers every year,\u201d and that \u201cOver the past four years, we have faced up to 8% cuts in Medicare reimbursement, and this year we again face another reduction of 2.8%. Medicare payment rates have fallen by 29% over the past two decades, when adjusting for the costs of running a practice, threatening patient access and practice viability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

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With a looming potential cut to the conversion factor of 2.8%, medical groups and integrated systems of care are looking at numerous repercussions that will impact patient access to critical healthcare services.<\/span><\/p>

The survey from AMGA members indicated that if these cuts by CMS go through, there will be numerous negative impacts to many medical groups, health systems, and\u00a0facilities up to and including potential elimination of certain services, employee layoffs, hiring freezes, as well as population health initiatives to the most vulnerable patients.<\/span><\/p>

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The potential cuts to the MPFS and conversion factor, would be the fifth year in a row that CMS and Medicaid have issued a disastrously low fee schedule, which undermines the value of services that doctors and other clinicians, provide. The survey from AMGA showed the following:<\/span><\/p>