Vermont and National Health Care Leaders Voice Support for the Physician Fee Stabilization Act, a bill to help rural health care providers

BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) announced support from national health organizations for their bipartisan Physician Fee Stabilization Act, legislation that ensures greater flexibility in determining pricing adjustments for medical services without triggering harmful annual payment cuts to Medicare-serving physicians. The budget neutrality threshold was last updated in 1992. The Physician Fee Stabilization Act is a critical step forward to ensure greater flexibility in determining pricing adjustments for services without triggering harmful annual payment cuts to Medicare-serving physicians. 

“So many Vermonters rely on Medicare for their health care coverage—it’s critical that their health care providers are fairly compensated,” said Senator Welch. “This commonsense, bipartisan bill updates an outdated, decades-old policy that triggers harmful cuts to provider payments. We’re working across the aisle to ensure providers in Vermont and rural communities around the country can keep treating Medicare patients and get reimbursed fairly for the care they provide.” 

“Medicare patients must have access to quality health services. Ensuring physicians are fairly compensated for their work will help deliver stability to providers so they continue to meet the needs of their communities. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan solution that enhances Medicare’s sustainability,” said Senator Boozman. 

The legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). 

Support from Health Care Leaders:

“Our independent practice association, Vermont HealthFirst, represents 128 physicians who own and operate 62 primary care and specialty care practices located across rural Vermont. We strongly support the Physician Fee Stabilization Act introduced by Senator Welch and colleagues that updates the budget neutrality threshold under the Medicare physician fee schedule. The bill represents an important step toward correcting a damaging headwind that threatens the solvency of our practices,” said Susan Ridzon, Executive Director, Vermont HealthFirst. 

“University of Vermont Health Network appreciates Senator Peter Welch’s leadership in taking an important step to address this major issue, which disproportionately impacts rural Americans. The physician fee schedule has not kept up with inflation for decades, which impacts access and adds to the burden of commercial insurers who shoulder more than their fair share of increasing health care costs. This is the kind of decisive, bipartisan action we need our federal government partners to take to ensure patients and communities have access to high quality care close to home,” said Dr. Sunny Eappen, President and CEO, University of Vermont Health Network. 

“The Vermont Medical Society, representing 2900 physicians, physician assistants, and medical students across Vermont, extends our thanks and strong support to Senator Welch for working to raise the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule budget neutrality cap. Vermont medical practices, from small independent offices to hospital-based clinics, cannot continue to bear year over year fee schedule cuts. This bill is particularly important to keeping medical practices open and able to serve patients in a rural state like Vermont with high Medicare coverage and a Medicaid fee schedule that mirrors the Medicare formula,” said Jessa Barnard, Executive Director, Vermont Medical Society. 

“On behalf of all of Vermont’s hospitals, the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems strongly supports Sen. Welch’s bill to update the budget neutrality threshold for the physician fee schedule for the first time since 1992. His proposed adjustment for inflation will positively impact our rural hospitals struggling to recruit and retain providers. We applaud Sen. Welch’s fair and reasonable approach to this issue,” said the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. 

“Physicians cannot continue to be faced with large reductions in Medicare payment at the beginning of each year, threatening our practice operations and access to care for our nation’s seniors. The American College of Physicians supports the Physician Fee Stabilization Act that would help to ensure this doesn’t continue to happen by raising the threshold for the implementation of budget neutral payment cuts,” said Isaac O. Opole, MBChB, PHD, MACP, President, American College of Physicians. 

“The Physician Fee Stabilization Act would provide a much-needed increase to the budget neutrality threshold, raising the trigger amount from $20 million, where it has been since 1992, to $53 million. It would then provide for inflationary increases every five years based on the Medicare Economic Index. As proposed, the $33 million increase is proportional to the growth of Part B spending since the implementation of the PFS,” said American College of Surgeons Executive Director and CEO Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS. “This would be an important step forward to ensure greater flexibility in determining pricing adjustments for services without triggering re-occurring across-the-board cuts at the end of every year.” 

“The Physician Fee Stabilization Act is a vital step toward ensuring stability and fairness in physician payment reform, especially for cardiologists who provide life-saving care. By raising the budget neutrality threshold, this legislation will help prevent annual cuts that threaten patients’ access to cardiovascular care. The American College of Cardiology commends Senators Boozman, Welch, Tillis, King, Marshall and Shaheen for their leadership and commitment to supporting our nation’s cardiologists and their patients,” said American College of Cardiology President Cathleen Biga, MSN, FACC. 

“The Physician Fee Stabilization Act marks the Senate’s first legislative solution this year to help ensure fair and consistent Medicare payments for physician services, and Congress should pass this bill to help ensure our nation’s seniors continue to have timely access to the physician of their choice. We applaud the bipartisan group of Senators leading this initiative and look forward to working with policymakers to advance additional long-lasting Medicare policy solutions,” said Russell R. Lonser, MD, FAANS, American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons.  

“The American Academy of Dermatology Association sincerely thanks Senators Boozman and Welch for introducing the Physician Fee Stabilization Act, which would update the budget neutrality thresholds in the Medicare physician fee schedule,” said American Academy of Dermatology Association President Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD. “This bill is a crucial step in the fight to reform Medicare physician payment as it would revise budget neutrality policies that contribute to eroding reimbursement, which is not only a critical top priority for dermatologists, but for all physicians and most importantly the patients we serve.” 

“The AAMC applauds Sens. Boozman and Welch for introducing the Physician Fee Stabilization Act. Physicians employed by teaching health systems and hospitals across the country are dedicated to both providing care to the most complex and vulnerable patients and training the next generation of physicians. These large, multispecialty practices are vital resources to their local communities, providing significant primary care and other critical services, including a large percentage of tertiary, quaternary, and specialty referral care in the community. However, their ability to continue to provide care in their communities is in jeopardy due to the threat of yearly cuts to their patient care payments,” said Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, Chief Public Policy Officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges. “The Physician Fee Stabilization Act would update the current budget neutrality threshold in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and continue to update it every five years. While more is needed to ensure the stability and longevity of the PFS, this is a critical step, and we appreciate the bipartisan commitment of Sens. Boozman and Welch to addressing issues with the PFS and look forward to working to get this legislation passed.” 

“The American Urological Association (AUA) applauds Senators John Boozman and Peter Welch, along with Senators Thom Tillis, Angus King, Roger Marshall, MD and Jeanne Shaheen, for their leadership in introducing S. 4935, the Physician Fee Stabilization Act,” said AUA Public Policy Council Chair Mark Edney, MD, MBA. “This bipartisan legislation takes the critical step of increasing the budget neutrality threshold from $20 to $53 million with adjustments every five years to keep pace with the MEI. The budget neutrality threshold has not been updated in more than 30 years and physicians are the only Medicare provider without inflationary payment updates. S. 4935 would fix this and bring much-needed stability to physician payment year after year, helping to ease the provision of urological care and countless other services to millions of Americans under Medicare.” 

“The American Optometric Association (AOA) applauds Sens. Boozman and Welch, for the visionary direction S. 4935 sets for future growth of health care access,” said Steven Reed, O.D., AOA president. “For so many years, physicians of all types, including doctors of optometry, have long been impacted by stagnant Medicare reimbursement. The costs to deliver care continue to increase especially in regard to staffing and overhead costs, yet Medicare reimbursement has remained and proposed cuts only threaten to hamper physicians’ ability to provide valued care. S. 4935 takes a long-term forward-looking approach to a real solution – not a patch – to address this problem.” 

The Physician Fee Stabilization Act has support from nationwide health organizations, including the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), American Optometric Association (AOA), Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), American College of Surgeons (ACS), American Osteopathic Association (AOA), National Rural Health Association (NRHA), American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), American College of Radiology (ACR), American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), Alliance of Specialty Medicine (ASM), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American Urological Association (AUA), American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), American Academy of Ophthalmology (AOA), American Psychiatric Association (APA), American College of Physicians (ACF), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and American College of Cardiology (ACC). 

Senators Welch and Boozman are long-time advocates of protecting access to Medicare services. In February, the Senators led an effort to ensure providers who treat Medicare patients are adequately compensated. 

Read the full text of the bill. 

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