Congress must act now to protect patients’ health care access in the face of consecutive cuts
American Academy of Dermatology President Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — “Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) again finalized cuts to the physician fee schedule for 2025 for the fifth consecutive year, further hindering patient access to care as practice expenses increase and payments decrease.
“Medicare finalized a cut of nearly 2.83% in payment for physician services in 2025. For dermatologists, the proposed Medicare cut would affect access to critical skin cancer treatment, life altering treatment for chronic inflammatory skin diseases, and so much more. Approximately 9,500 people in the United States are diagnosed with this cancer every day.
“According to the Definitive Healthcare 2023 report, over 70,000 physicians have left the health care workforce between 2020- 2022 due to several issues, including rising costs, administrative burdens, and burn out.
“Since I began practicing, I have increasingly had to grow my patient volume to keep up with demand while simultaneously juggling skyrocketing overhead costs.
“These cuts to Medicare physician payments, which have occurred every single year since 2021, arise from a complex set of budgetary rules and systemic flaws in the requirements that, unless addressed, will continue to threaten physicians’ ability to provide care. These include the budget-neutrality requirement for Medicare mandating that any increase for certain physician services must be balanced by cuts elsewhere with no concern for inflationary pressures. The failure of Medicare physician payments to keep up with inflation is the greatest threat to maintaining patients’ access to care.
“The American Academy of Dermatology Association urgently calls on Congress to reform the current Medicare cuts before more patients suffer. Congress must act and must act now by passing legislation that would help stabilize physician payment, including three House bills H.R. 2474, the Strengthening Medicare for Patient and Providers Act, H.R. 6371, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act, and H.R. 10073, the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2024; and the Senate bill S. 4935, the Physician Fee Stabilization Act.“
About the AAD
Headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., the American Academy of Dermatology, founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential and most representative of all dermatologic associations. With a membership of more than 21,000 physicians worldwide, the AAD is committed to advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical, and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair, and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care because skin, hair, and nail conditions can have a serious impact on your health and well-being. For more information, contact the AAD at (888) 462-DERM (3376) or aad.org. Follow @AADskin on Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube and @AADskin1 on Instagram.
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SOURCE American Academy of Dermatology
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