Patient care under continued threat in proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

Surgical Care Coalition urges Congress to address systemic challenges to stop the annual reductions that harm patient care

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2023 (CY2023) released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) once again jeopardizes seniors' access to critical treatments and procedures, according to the Surgical Care Coalition. 

CMS is proposing to cut the Medicare conversion factor—the basic starting point for calculating Medicare payments—by 4.42% for CY2023. As surgical care faces another round of proposed cuts, it's clear that these cuts on top of the sequester cuts threaten patient care and are unsustainable for the long term. Congress must take action to stop another round of cuts, while also stabilizing the system, to protect patients and the care they need.

Surgical leaders across specialties are concerned about the cuts:

"Year after year, CMS proposes cuts which put access to critical procedures at risk for millions of patients—often the very patients who are most in need of care," said Patricia Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, American College of Surgeons Executive Director. "Today's proposed rule underscores the continued disinvestment in patient care, and the Surgical Care Coalition urges Congress to immediately stop these cuts to protect patients and work toward finding a long-term solution that promotes quality care and investment."

"Once again, we are facing another year of devastating cuts to a Medicare system that is already ill-equipped to meet the needs of millions of Americans," said John Ratliff, MD, American Association of Neurological Surgeon/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Washington Committee Chair. "The Surgical Care Coalition stands ready to urge Congress to not only stabilize payment levels in the short-term but also transform the system into one that is stable and reliable in the long-term."

"The current Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is broken. It fails to incentivize collaboration and pits doctor against doctor every year," said Joseph C. Cleveland Jr., MD, Chair of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Council on Health Policy and Relationships. "It's crucial that Congress work to address these cuts and create a more sustainable payment system. Failure to do so presents a serious risk to patients during a time of declining access to surgical care and rising prices for services and treatments."

"The cost of running a medical practice has increased 39% in the past twenty years. When adjusted for inflation, the impact is a decline in value of Medicare physician payments of 28%," said George Williams, MD, American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Secretary for Advocacy. "On top of jeopardizing patients' access to care, the proposed cuts further exacerbate the difficult operating environment surgical practices already face and the people that are affected most are our patients."

"The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule fails to support patients in need of life saving surgeries that remove and substantially reduce the risk of breast cancer," said Nathalie Johnson, MD, FACS, American Society of Breast Surgeons President. "As rates of breast cancer unfortunately continue to steadily rise and impact more women every year, further cuts will reduce surgeons' ability to provide patients with the care they need."

"Annual cuts to reimbursement for surgical care imperils access for seniors to medically necessary and sight-saving and sight-restoring therapies," said Doug Rhee, MD, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery President. "2.3 million Americans last year alone depended on Medicare to receive cataract surgery.  Unfortunately, CMS's proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2023 poses an even greater risk than in years past to patient access to these and other life-altering interventions."

"The past two years have demonstrated that patients need a more durable health care system that ensures they have access to the care they need, when they need it," said Christopher Reeder, DO, American College of Osteopathic Surgeons President. "CMS's proposed policies are emblematic of the need for long-term reform to the broader Medicare payments system.

"Anesthesiologists, who play a critical and unique role on surgical teams, are facing an unacceptable cut under the proposed fee schedule," said Randall M. Clark, MD, FASA, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) President. "The need for a more sustainable payments system has never been more evident, and ASA is ready to fight alongside the Surgical Care Coalition to prevent these cuts from taking effect."

About the Surgical Care Coalition
The Surgical Care Coalition advocates for access to quality surgical care for all Americans. The Surgical Care Coalition is comprised of 14 surgical professional associations that proudly represent the more than 180,000 surgeons working across the country with a common goal of improving the quality of care, and quality of life, for all patients.

Members of the Surgical Care Coalition

• American Academy of Ophthalmology
• American Association of Neurological Surgeons
• American College of Osteopathic Surgeons
• American College of Surgeons
• American Society for Surgery of the Hand
• American Society of Anesthesiologists
• American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery
• American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
• American Society of Plastic Surgeons
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• Society for Vascular Surgery
• Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
• The American Society of Breast Surgeons
• The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Surgical Care Coalition