What’s the news: The AMA is offering seven key strategies for engaging lawmakers during the August recess to ensure that systemic Medicare physician payment reforms and other legislative priorities are on Congress’ radar.
Under the uncertain political climate in which congressional town halls have dwindled in the third quarter of 2025, it is more important than ever to engage lawmakers on Capitol Hill and back home in the district, said David Lusk, founder and CEO of Key Advocacy in Davidson, North Carolina.
Connect with them “so that they can hear our concerns over the din and noise of all these other issues that are out there,” said Lusk. Congress may avoid a payment cut or include an inflation adjustment in payment, then remove it in two or three years because lawmakers haven’t heard from physicians in a while, he cautioned.
Hearing from a certain constituency can affect decision-making in congressional offices, he emphasized.
“It’s important that we stay engaged so that we can start to get momentum in the right direction.”
Lusk joined Lindsey Brill, senior lobbyist in the AMA’s division of congressional affairs, for the webinar that is posted on the advocacy hub of AMA's Fix Medicare Now website.
The AMA is leading the charge to reform the Medicare payment system, which is the AMA’s top advocacy priority.
7 ways to make your voice heard
The AMA in 2024 advocated similar changes, including a systemic overhaul to Medicare’s unsustainable physician pay system. Physician payment has plummeted by more than 33% since 2001, once practice-cost inflation is taken into account.
Drawing from an AMA engagement toolkit to help physician advocates with their August outreach efforts, Lusk outlined these seven steps for engaging lawmakers:
- In-district meetings. Look for open office hours or other hosted events.
- Host your own small roundtable or informal coffee with Congress. Libraries or community centers can offer you space. Make sure you pre-screen attendees to ensure calm, policy-focused dialogue.
- Policy-brief delivery and follow-up Q&A. Schedule brief walk-through calls of materials with key staffers. Drop off charts summarizing Medicare physician payments.
- Hosted site visits. Feature distinctive elements of your facility or practice. Include colleagues or community members, lawmakers or staff.
- Local organization events. Look for a Chamber of Commerce breakfast or church roundtables. Speak up during Q&A to ask about Medicare payment reform or do a one-on-one with a lawmaker. Ask to meet with their health care staffer to schedule a longer conversation.
- Digital engagement push. Comment and tag your lawmaker on social media and include relevant AMA hashtags such as #FixMedicareNow, #FixPriorAuth, #TruthinRx.
- Op-eds and letters to the editor. Note concerns about physician payment cuts, referencing lawmakers by name and seeking their assistance. Try submissions to smaller regional or local publications that are looking to fill content.
This is not a sprint, but a marathon, noted Brill. Get to know the key health care staffers, show up with materials and share your personal stories so that staffers know why this material is important.
“You don’t always get the meeting you want right away. Be politely persistent,” she advised.
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Why it’s important: Persistent physician lobbying ensured that the latest budget-reconciliation package included a 2.5% increase in Medicare payments.
“This kind of result is only possible from outreach from constituents like yourselves who are living with the Medicare cuts and who can speak to the impact on the district on their practices and their ability to treat patients,” said Brill.
The AMA continues to strongly advocate permanent baseline updates to the conversion factors that account for the growth in physician practice costs, such as the Medicare Economic Index (PDF). The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recently provided Congress a road map to move in this direction.
The AMA is pushing for a bill that would tie Medicare payments to the MEI, Brill said. Other legislative priorities include an effort to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which expire at the end of 2025, and to prevent scope of practice bills like H.R. 3164, the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act from moving forward.
“We need your passion and your engagement with your members of Congress to make inroads on our priorities and help us get over the finish line on many of these important issues,” Brill urged webinar participants.
Learn more: The AMA continues to build understanding on Capitol Hill about the unsustainable path the Medicare payment system is on. That includes creating the Medicare Basics series, which provides an in-depth look at important aspects of the Medicare physician payment system. With these six straightforward explainers, policymakers and physician advocates can learn about key elements of the payment system and why they are in need of reform.
The Fix Medicare Now advocacy hub also includes a printable flier (PDF) to be displayed in hospital and practice waiting areas with a QR code that patients can use to easily visit the Fix Medicare Now site to learn more and take action.
Visit AMA Advocacy in Action to find out what’s at stake in reforming Medicare payment and other advocacy priorities the AMA is actively working on.
