Representatives Greg
Murphy, MD (R-NC) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), along with other bipartisan members of Congress recently introduced HR 879, the
Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act. The legislation, if enacted, would not be retroactive, but would temporarily add 6.62 percent to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Conversion Factor (CF) effective April 1 through December 31, 2025. The 6.62 percent incorporates eliminating the entirety of the existing 2.83 percent reduction that was implemented on January 1 and provides additional reimbursement to offset the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projected 3.6 percent increase in practice cost expenses for the year. AHCA/NCAL is engaged with coalition partners seeking enactment of this legislation in a manner that does not remove funding from essential programs important to the Associations’ members and the residents they serve.
Background
The Medicare Part B MPFS is used to pay for certain medical services and items furnished on an outpatient basis, or for inpatients that are not otherwise covered under Part A. In a nursing facility, this includes physician, nurse practitioner, physical and occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology professional services as well as for portable x-ray, clinical laboratory, and other services. The 2.83 percent rate cut implemented on January 1 was the result of longstanding statutory budget neutrality requirements of which AHCA/NCAL and coalition partners are seeking for Congress to enact long-term reforms, including annual inflationary adjustments.