AAOS Warns Congress: Do NOT Cut Surgeon Pay

The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has issued a letter urging Congress to act before the end of the year to pass two bills to prevent a cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and to improve Medicare Advantage prior authorization processes.

AAOS sent the letter to congressional leaders earlier this month. The full text of the letter is available here. The letter was signed by AAOS President Felix H. Savoie, III, M.D., FAAOS.

In the letter, AAOS asked Congress to pass the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022 (H.R. 8800). The Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022 will “prevent a 4.47% cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Conversion Factor (CF) in 2023.”

Dr. Savoie wrote, “The entire healthcare clinician community faces a cumulative Medicare payment reduction of approximately 8.5% starting January 1, 2023.” Dr. Savoie claims these cuts will “drive hospital consolidation, limit patient access, and harm physicians’ ability to run their businesses.”

Dr. Savoie emphasized that “physicians are the only group in the Medicare payment system whose reimbursement is not adjusted for inflation.” According to Dr. Savoie, physician reimbursement by Medicare has actually dropped by 20% during the past 20 years when adjusting for inflation.

In the letter, AAOS also asked Congress to pass the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173/S. 3018). The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act has already had success with its passage in the U.S. House of Representatives in October 2022 and is supported by over 500 organizations.

The bill seeks to improve “flawed” prior authorization processes within Medicare Advantage. Dr. Savoie cited an April 2022 report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human services that “found that MA [Medicare Advantage] plans inappropriately denied up to 85,000 prior authorization requests in 2019.” Dr. Savoie also pointed to an American Medical Association survey that “found that 34% of physicians reported a serious adverse event for a patient” due to prior authorization delays.

Other signatories to the letter included the following: American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, American Society for Surgery of the Hand, Arthroscopy of Association of North America, and Orthopaedic Trauma Association.