Congress Delays Medicare Payment Cuts With Passage of COVID Relief Package

December 22, 2020—The Surgical Care Coalition announced that the United States Congress voted to protect patients’ access to surgical care by delaying steep Medicare payment cuts from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that were included in the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).

According to the Surgical Care Coalition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, passed by Congress late Monday, December 21, prevents significant Medicare cuts by increasing all Medicare payment codes by 3.75% for 2021 and delaying an add-on code for 3 years. Passage of the bipartisan legislation was led by United States Representatives Ami Bera, MD (D-CA), and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN), and Senator John Boozman (R-AR).

The Surgical Care Coalition noted that if Congress did not make these changes, the MPFS would cut Medicare payments to some surgical specialties by up to 9%. The cuts were set to take effect on January 1, 2021.

“Congress rightly prioritized patients by rejecting CMS's disastrous Medicare payment cuts,” stated John A. Wilson, MD, FAANS, FACS, President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, in the announcement. “COVID-19 has pushed our health care system to the brink, and physicians fighting on the front lines will not have this misguided policy hanging over their heads. There is still work to do to ensure patients have timely access to surgical care in 2022 and beyond, but this is a significant step in the right direction.”

David Hoyt, MD, FACS, Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons, added, “Congressional leaders recognized it is irresponsible to cut health care in the middle of a pandemic. We applaud them and our legislative champions, Senator Boozman and Representatives Bera and Bucshon for putting patients first.”

Dr. Hoyt continued, “The Surgical Care Coalition pledges to work with policymakers to find a sustainable fix that ensures patients will have access to quality surgical care—both during and after the pandemic.”

The Surgical Care Coalition was formed by 12 surgical professional associations this year to stop the Medicare physician payment cuts, formalizing an existing network that worked collectively for the past several years, and to advocate for access to quality surgical care for all Americans.