Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge HHS to Take Steps to Prevent Medicare Payment Cuts

On Sept. 24, a bipartisan group of 161 members of Congress wrote to HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH expressing concerns about the pending Medicare physician payment cuts. The lawmakers asked the administration to “engage with stakeholders in establishing fair and equitable payment solutions that address Medicare payment cuts,” while at the same time “moving forward with policies to increase payments to primary care and other office-based specialties.” The letter cites the need to protect patient access to medically necessary services given the unprecedented public health and economic challenges currently facing physicians and other health care providers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.