ASRS is urging members to email their U.S. Representative and ask that they sign on to a letter seeking immediate action to prevent the scheduled 3.75% cut to the 2022 Medicare physician fee schedule conversion factor.

Reps. Ami Bera, MD (D-CA) and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN) are leading a bipartisan letter to leadership that notes because of budget neutrality, 2021 increases to standalone E/M services would have caused a significant cut to all other Medicare services. Congress acted in late 2020 to prevent that cut, but only provided a one-year fix. This letter reminds leadership that the pending cut must be addressed again, preferably for a longer period. This will give the physician community and policymakers additional time to develop long-term solutions to imbalances in the fee schedule.

Please use the American College of Surgeon’s (ACS) grassroots system to send a pre-composed email to your representative asking that they sign the Bera/Bucshon letter. You do not need to be a fellow of ACS to use the system.

ASRS is also working with the surgical community to advocate for increased post-operative visit values in global surgery codes and to prevent sequestration cuts scheduled for 2022. Stay tuned for further opportunities to contact your members of Congress on those issues.

If you have questions, please contact Allison Madson, Vice President of Health Policy.