How '30-second advocacy' can increase Medicare reimbursement

Declines in Medicare reimbursement present a significant challenge to physicians. When adjusted for inflation, Medicare physician payment rates have decreased by 26% from 2001 to 2023, according to the American Medical Association.

Navigating these declines was the main theme during an executive session at Becker's 12th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable. Mark Isenberg, executive vice president of advocacy, and Ed Gaines, vice president of regulatory affairs and industry liaison — both of Zotec Partners — summarized some of the key legislative and regulatory issues affecting providers and issued a call to action.

Three key takeaways were:

  1. Healthcare leaders are advocating for changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. "Physicians have never received an inflationary adjustment on the Medicare Fee Schedule," Mr. Gaines said. This has contributed to declines in physician income and an increased reliance on patient volumes, which potentially decreases the time a physician can spend with individual patients. 
  1. Zotec serves as an advocacy bridge between physicians and legislators. "We create a message in favor of or against certain legislation and send that out to our group of advocates," Mr. Isenberg said. "Then, they [physicians] have the ability to simply put in their name and address, which will direct the message to the appropriate elected official."
  1. Health systems must encourage physicians to reach out now. While Zotec works with a variety of organizations, it needs physicians to join in advocacy now. Mr. Gaines explained the importance of getting this issue heard during the lame duck session, which ends around Dec. 20. "They have 20 working days and plenty to do, but it's squeaky wheel time," he said. "Now is the time to be reaching out to your members."

Mr. Isenberg added. "We would love to have your physicians sign up as advocates. The more numbers we have, the more strength we have, and the more ability we have to get meetings with key people. It literally takes 30 seconds."

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