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Statement from Physician Groups on Medicare Payment

For immediate release: April 9, 2025

The health care system has changed dramatically in recent years and the compounding effects are negatively impacting patient access to care and the patient-physician relationship. These changes include significant consolidation of both insurance companies and of hospital and healthcare systems. Additionally, there are reports of Medicare Advantage gaming the system and diverting resources from patient care. All of this is happening while physicians are seeing steadily increasing clinical practice expenses exacerbated by reduced Medicare reimbursement that threatens the viability of practices.

Given the rapid nature of these changes, we are at an inflection point. Continuing to perpetuate the broken physician payment system will likely be the death knell for the ability of physicians to sustain clinical practices. This will only further ensure control of the health care system by large corporate entities such as insurers and health systems without appropriate competition, resulting in continued erosion of the patient-physician relationship.  

Our organizations call on Congress and the administration to:

Preserve and strengthen patient access to high quality health care for all Americans.
Take initial steps now to address the broken Medicare physician payment system by adding an annual payment adjustment based on the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) and reform the budget neutrality requirements which have caused significant problems for the Medicare physician payment system over the years.

While not all-encompassing, these initial steps are needed to bring stability to the health care system. These steps would also protect patient access to high quality care and patient choice while preserving the patient-physician relationship and physician autonomy.

American Academy of Dermatology Association
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American College of Cardiology
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Physicians
American College of Radiology
American College of Surgeons
American Society of Anesthesiologists
College of American Pathologists
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 128,300 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits — that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine and the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, visit www.aafp.org. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.  