ACR-backed Senate Bill Targets Medicare Payment Volatility

U.S. Sens. John Boozman, R-AR, Peter Welch, D-VT, Roger Marshall, MD, R-KS, Angus King, I-ME, Thom Tillis, R-NC, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, introduced the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act to improve long-term stability in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. ACR® and a broad coalition of physician organizations support the bill.

The legislation would reduce steep year-to-year payment swings driven by budget neutrality requirements and more accurately account for practice expense changes. It was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate.

The bill would:

• Increase the budget neutrality threshold.
• Require regular reviews of practice expense inputs.
• Give CMS tools to correct inaccurate or outdated billing codes.
• Limit annual conversion factor changes to plus or minus 2.5%.

For more information, contact Rebecca Spangler, ACR Senior Director of Government Affairs.