ACR Urges Lawmakers to Pass Permanent Medicare Pay Fix Tied to Medical Economic Index

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) recently joined the American Medical Association (AMA) and numerous physician specialty societies and state medical associations in a letter to congressional leadership urging action to provide a permanent inflationary update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) based on the full Medical Economic Index (MEI).

The letter comes after a recent Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) report to Congress that supports a partial MEI-based inflationary update to the MFPS. The ACR and others are encouraged that MedPAC recognizes the need for the update. However, a partial update does not fully acknowledge or address the inherent flaw in the statutorily required application of budget neutrality to the MPFS, which leads to decline in overall Medicare reimbursement irrespective of continually increasing practice costs.

Since 2020, ACR has led a broad coalition of physician and non-physician clinicians working toward a common goal of substantive reform to the MPFS that would provide radiologists and others with much needed fiscal stability. For more information, contact Rebecca Spangler, ACR Senior Government Affairs Director.