November 29, 2021
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi | The Honorable Kevin McCarthy |
Speaker | Republican Leader |
U.S. House of Representatives | U.S. House of Representatives |
The Honorable Charles Schumer | The Honorable Mitch McConnell |
Majority Leader | Republican Leader |
U.S. Senate | U.S. Senate |
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leaders Schumer, McConnell, and McCarthy:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing over one million physician and nonphysician health care providers, thank you for your ongoing support for Medicare beneficiaries and the health care provider community. Congress’ commitment to ensuring greater stability within the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for calendar year (CY) 2021, via a 3.75% payment adjustment for all services, avoided significant disruptions to care for Medicare beneficiaries and provided a lifeline for health care providers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to stress the healthcare delivery system.
Unfortunately, this temporary measure did not address the ongoing structural problems with the MPFS, and the provider community is again bracing for steep cuts in 2022, which could result in many beneficiaries losing timely access to essential health care services. To avoid this scenario, Congress must act before the end of the year to extend the 3.75% payment adjustment through at least CY 2022.