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On the heels of our recent story about physician pay and stagnant reimbursement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed 2027 physician fee schedule this week, and it’s a devasting step in the wrong direction. Given the economic challenges that many independent practices are currently grappling with, not to mention workload and burnout concerns, cuts to reimbursement rates are another sign of misaligned federal policy that will harm the community’s independent practices and Asante Medical Group alike.
The proposed rules negatively impact, at slightly differing rates, both qualifying alternative payment model (APM) participants (QPs) and clinicians who are not QPs. Both programs would receive decreases in reimbursement under this rule by 1.19% and 1.68% respectively. See the CMS fact sheet.
“Since 2020, CMS has decreased reimbursement for physicians and other providers by 8%, while inflation has increased nearly 30%. This substantial reduction in inflation adjusted reimbursement is a direct financial hit to those in private practice and to organizations that employ physicians. At Asante Medical Group, our ability to recruit and retain physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants directly correlates with our ability to pay competitive wages and provide reasonable cost of living increases. We need CMS to recognize that reimbursement needs to keep up with inflation, so we can continue to support the medical needs of our community,” says Scott Wilber, MD, CEO, Asante Medical Group.
At a time when our medical staff are increasing patient visits to meet the needs of our communities, and the existing reimbursement model is broken, this is yet another setback for both health systems and independent organizations alike. Ultimately, these cuts impact patient access, discourage investment in primary care and make it harder for physicians to stay independent.
Reimbursement rates should be increasing to catch up to the cost of providing care, but instead independent medical groups, as well as Asante Medical Group, will be left to absorb the shortfall.
