APTQI Supports Bipartisan Effort to Stop Medicare Cuts

In February, a bipartisan group of more than thirty Senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell urging them to stop the severe Medicare payment cuts to healthcare providers, including physical therapists.

On January 1, a 3.37 percent cut to Medicare payments went into effect. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) chose to finalize these cuts despite warnings and opposition from Medicare stakeholders across the care continuum. These cuts will only exacerbate existing challenges and ultimately make it more difficult for patients to access the care they need.

In the letter, the Senators expressed the need to continue their work with healthcare providers to ensure that Medicare patients retain access to quality care.

The letter stated:

“After three consecutive years of Medicare payment reductions, healthcare providers are at a breaking point and are struggling to maintain access to care for the Medicare beneficiaries they treat. Facing a nearly 10 percent reduction in Medicare payments over the past four years, rising practice costs, workforce shortages, and financial uncertainty resulting from the pandemic, some practices are already limiting the number of Medicare patients they see, or the types of services offered. It is anticipated that these cuts will be felt hardest by smaller, independent practices, like those in rural and underserved areas that continue to face significant health care access challenges. On behalf of patients and healthcare workers, Congress must urgently work together with the provider community to come up with long-term legislative solutions to reform the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).”

After the letter was sent, Congress advanced a partial fix to the MPFS cut. The appropriations bill to keep the government funded included a 1.68% payment increase.

APTQI applauds this bipartisan effort to protect access to care. We are dedicated to continuing to work with Congress to address these cuts on behalf of the physical therapy community and the patients they serve.

To see the letter, click here.