E&C Holds Hearing on Medicare’s Physician Payment System

November 7, 2023 – On October 19th, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health convened a hearing titled “What’s the Prognosis? Examining Proposals to Improve Patient Access to Care & Minimize Red Tape for Doctors.” During the hearing, the panel considered 23 pieces of legislation, ranging from proposals to stabilize and improve the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, and MIPS, to laboratory payments.

The first panel of witnesses included representatives from CMS, the Government Accountability Office, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). During the second panel, the committee heard testimony from the American Academy of Family Physicians, a practicing oncologist, the Paragon Health Institute, and The Brookings Institution.

Much of the hearing focused on the impact of insufficient Medicare physician reimbursement on patient access to quality care and proposals to reform the fee schedule while reducing administrative burdens for clinicians.