The 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule confirmed a nearly 4.5% cut for surgeons that will jeopardize patient access to needed surgical care. Combined with a 4% Medicare payment reduction stemming from the statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, surgical care faces cuts of 8.5% in Medicare reimbursement on January 1, all while surgeons and practices are contending with significant medical inflation, staffing shortages, and supply chain issues.
“Any cut to such lifesaving and life-altering care is unacceptable. As Congress contemplates protecting America’s seniors from such cuts, our leaders must also consider that further cuts would exacerbate the record inflation that has already impacted surgeons across the nation,” said Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, ACS Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Before the cuts go into effect, there is still time to make a difference—for your career, your profession, and your patients. And the ACS is supporting you and all surgeons at every step.
On December 5, the ACS joined with more than 100 healthcare organizations, representing more than one million physician and non-physician healthcare clinicians and the patients they serve, in issuing a letter and press release urging Congress to stop the Medicare payment cut in its entirety. The press release, presented through the Surgical Care Coalition, also details the group’s launch of a Week of Action, which will highlight the need to stop the cuts before January 1.
Your efforts are critical to the success of these efforts.
It takes just a few minutes to add your voice to the growing call to protect your profession and the patients you serve through ACS SurgeonsVoice. Within the last month alone, more than 1,000 additional surgeons have used SurgeonsVoice to advocate for congressional action, growing the total to more than 2,700 surgeons this year.
In addition, you can join the conversation on social media using #StopTheFullCut so that Congress hears from you that these impending cuts must be stopped to safeguard patient access to care.
The ACS will be acting throughout this week and the month of December to protect patient access to care and surgery. Check our communication channels regularly to see how the College is responding and how you can help.
