Medicare Physician Payment Cuts and How the Medical Profession Can Make a Difference-Medicare Physician Payment Cuts and How the Medical Profession Can Make a Difference

Medicare Physician Payment Cuts and How the Medical Profession Can Make a Difference

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this session at DO Day, Sean Hamm and Gabriel Miller discussed the challenges and potential reforms related to Medicare physician payment cuts. They provided an overview of Medicare's current payment structure, explaining the stagnation of payment rates and the systemic issues causing underpayment for physicians. A key focus was on the effects of statutory requirements and policies that drive down physician payments, such as Medicare's conversion factor reductions and MIPS program flaws. This has led to a need for congressional intervention and reform as consolidation trends increase within the medical field, often to the detriment of small and independent practices. <br /><br />Both presenters emphasized the significance of engaging lawmakers and advocating for necessary payment reforms. They suggested building relationships with representatives to highlight the real-world impact of these policies on practitioners and patients. Hamm and Miller also discussed recent opportunities for payment enhancements, including billing practices and the optimization of new CMS codes for comprehensive care. Physicians were encouraged to utilize these resources to maximize reimbursement for their efforts. To streamline their workflow, they recommended integrating these billing practices into EMRs to ensure all services provided are documented and credited properly.

Keywords

Medicare payment cuts

physician payment reform

Medicare payment structure

conversion factor reductions

MIPS program flaws

congressional intervention

medical field consolidation

payment enhancements

CMS codes optimization

EMR integration