The Senate Finance Committee held an April 11 hearing titled “Boosting Chronic Care through Medicare Physician Payment.” The bipartisan hearing focused on ensuring access to care for Medicare beneficiaries. During the hearing, the committee focused on structural problems with the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which have resulted in physicians facing annual payment cuts despite rising costs of patient care. Other areas of focus included prior authorization abuse, chronic care management, pitfalls of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System, and strategies to bolster more widespread adoption of advanced alternative payment models.
Prior to the hearing, the AAMC joined a sign on letter with nearly 30 other organizations to reiterate support for removing patient cost-sharing obligations from the Chronic Care Management (CCM) code in Medicare. The letter to Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) highlighted the importance of CCM as part of coordinated care and reminded lawmakers that the creation of a separate CCM code triggered a 20% coinsurance requirement for Medicare patients to receive these services. The AAMC supports the House legislation, the Chronic Care Management Act of 2023 (H.R. 2829), which would remove the coinsurance requirement from the CCM code.
- Washington Highlights