- The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House
H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20515 - The Honorable John Thune
Senate Majority Leader
S-230, U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20510 - The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
House Democratic Leader
H-204, U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20515 - The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Senate Democratic Leader
S-221, U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Speaker Johnson, Leader Thune, Leader Jeffries, and Leader Schumer:
On behalf of the undersigned physician organizations, we urge Congress to protect Medicare patients’ access to care and advance meaningful Medicare payment reform in any end-of-year legislative package. We appreciate the work Congress has done this year to support physicians and the patients they serve. Medicare physician payment has fallen approximately 33 percent since 2001 when adjusted for inflation in practice costs, and the physician fee schedule remains the only major Medicare payment system without automatic inflation-based updates. As payment falls further behind the cost of providing care, it becomes harder for physician practices, particularly those that are small, rural, and independent, to keep caring for Medicare patients. This payment disparity also drives up consolidation and increases health care costs, which have a real impact on patients and their access to care. Accordingly, we urge Congress to:
Extend the 2.5 percent physician payment update through 2027. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projects a 2.5 percent increase in practice costs next year. Continuing the update Congress provided for 2026 would help narrow the gap between Medicare payment and rising costs. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has also recommended increasing the 2027 physician payment update above current law.
Enact the bipartisan Provider Reimbursement Stability Act (H.R. 8163/S. 5180). Approved 44–0 by the House Ways and Means Committee, this legislation would require CMS to prospectively correct budget neutrality adjustments when actual service use differs substantially from its estimates. The Congressional Budget Office identified two CMS overestimates since 2015 that together lowered physician payment rates by approximately 1.8 percentage points. Physicians and patients should not face permanent cuts to offset spending that never occurred.
Click here to view the full AMA Federation Letter Urging Medicare Physician Payment Reforms in Year-End 2026 Legislation.
