CMS released its 2025 physician payment rule, which includes a 94 cent (2.83%) conversion factor decrease from 2024.
The physician fee schedule conversion factor for 2025 is $32.35, down from $33.29 in 2024, according to a Nov. 1 CMS news release.
The final rule was met with criticism by the American Medical Association and the Medical Group Management Association.
"To put it bluntly, Medicare plans to pay us less while costs go up," AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, said in a Nov. 1 statement. "You don't have to be an economist to know that is an unsustainable trend, though one that has been going on for decades. For physician practices operating on small margins already, this means it is harder to acquire new equipment, harder to retain staff, harder to take on new Medicare patients, and harder to keep the doors open, particularly in rural and underserved areas."
MGMA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Anders Gilberg said in a Nov. 1 statement that CMS and Congress "have once again overlooked the sobering financial realities facing our nation's medical practice."
"Today's final rule throws the financial viability of physician practices into question and threatens beneficiary access to care," he said.
Both organizations are calling on Congress to pass a recently introduced House bill that would stop the cuts that are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. Rep. Jimmy Panetta of California said the legislation would not only prevent cuts, but would adjust provider reimbursements for inflation.