May 19, 2026

Dear Representatives Murphy and Suozzi:

The undersigned physician organizations representing national medical specialty societies and state medical associations write to express our strong support for H.R. 8163, the “Provider Reimbursement Stability Act.” This legislation represents a necessary step toward building a more rational, predictable Medicare physician payment system that preserves patient access to care and reflects the true cost of delivering high-quality medical services.

Medicare physician payment has eroded dramatically over the past two decades. When adjusted for inflation, physician practice payments from Medicare have fallen by approximately 33 percent since 2001, even as the costs of running a medical practice have continued to climb. Physicians are the only Medicare provider type that does not receive an annual payment update tied to inflation. At the same time, the budget neutrality requirements governing the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) have compounded this problem, triggering across-the-board conversion factor reductions that undermine the financial stability of physician practices year after year. These persistent payment cuts have real consequences for patient access to physician services. This important legislation directly addresses the structural flaws driving these outcomes and advances several targeted, complementary reforms to improve the stability and accuracy of the MPFS.

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