Murphy Legislation to Improve Medicare Reimbursement Stability Passes Ways and Means Committee

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D., celebrates the passage of his bill, H.R. 8163, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act, in the House Ways and Means Committee. This legislation modernizes and updates the underlying mechanics of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) to improve stability for physicians and their patients.

"Physicians in America have been crushed for decades by persistent cuts to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule," said Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. "Access to high-quality, affordable care is drying up around the country, particularly in rural communities because reimbursement is less than the cost of care. These reductions are driving independent physicians out of practice, either to retire early, sell out to private equity, or be acquired by consolidated hospital systems. The first leads to fewer physicians, and the latter two drive up costs. This methodology is unacceptable, especially given the severe physician shortage our country faces. I am proud that my legislation to reform reimbursement policies was passed in the House Ways and Means Committee, and I look forward to advocating for its passage on the House floor."

"America is losing private practice doctors to hospital empires at an alarming rate and part of the blame lies with unpredictable Medicare reimbursements for physicians," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith. "This bill protects patient access to care by stabilizing payments and limiting unintended reimbursement cuts for the doctors who care for them. Dr. Murphy is a leader in Congress in preserving access to care in rural and underserved areas, and this bill is a reflection of that commitment."

Background

• According to the American Medical Association, when adjusted for inflation, Medicare reimbursement for physician services has declined 33% from 2001 to 2026.
• Certain MPFS reimbursement provisions have not been updated since the fee schedule was established in 1992.

The Provider Reimbursement Stability Act:

• Increases the budget neutrality threshold from $20 million to $54.3 million and indexes the threshold to the cumulative percentage increase in the MEI every five years.
• Provides for budget neutrality corrections related to the estimated utilization of codes.
• Provides updates to direct costs used to calculate practice expense relative value units (RVUs) not less often than every 5 years.
• Limits year-to-year variance in the conversion factor by 2.5%.