Months of high-level discussions regarding reforming Medicare physician payment has culminated in physician lawmakers introducing bipartisan legislation advancing the first leg of the AMA’s three-part strategy for fixing the broken system.
The “Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act,” H.R. 2474, would provide automatic updates to physician Medicare payment rates and link them to inflation. The bill was introduced by California Democratic Reps. Raul Ruiz, MD, and Ami Bera, MD, along with Republicans Larry Bucshon, MD, of Indiana, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD, of Iowa.