August recess is here—tell Congress to fix Medicare Now
As Congress returns home for the annual August recess, physician advocates have unique opportunities to engage with their members of Congress "back home" in the district.
Unlike other health care providers, physicians are the only group who do not receive automatic, annual inflationary updates tied to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). This means that when adjusted for inflation, Medicare physician payment has been reduced 33% since 2001. As costs rise and the number of Medicare patients grows, physician payment continues to fall behind—forcing many practices to operate at a loss or close altogether.
To make August recess interactions with legislators as impactful as possible, the AMA has developed an online August recess resources site that is your one-stop shop for toolkits, legislative calls to action, issue briefs, infographics and detailed information on scheduling and preparing for legislative meetings and other in-district opportunities.
Please contact your legislators today and let them know it is time to Fix Medicare Now.
