The 4 Medicare physician pay reforms the AMA and 61 groups want from Congress

The American Medical Association and 61 other healthcare organizations are asking Congress to include four Medicare policies in any year-end legislative package. They argue the four changes would protect patients’ access to care and give physician practices the stability they need to keep seeing Medicare patients.

In a letter to congressional leaders, the coalition warns that Medicare physician payment has fallen about 33% since 2001 when adjusted for inflation in practice costs. The request comes days after CMS released its final 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Under that rule, the conversion factor for most physicians drops 2.31% on Jan. 1. That is a deeper cut than CMS proposed in July, and most of it comes from the expiration of a one-year 2.5% increase Congress provided for 2026.

The groups want Congress to extend that 2.5% update through 2027 and pass the bipartisan Provider Reimbursement Stability Act. They also want a one-year delay of the new same-day visit reduction, which still penalizes same-day care even after CMS scaled it back. Their fourth ask is a 2% cap on penalties under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System, a program physicians say demands 200 hours a year for a 1% tip.

AMA President Willie Underwood III, MD, MSc, MPH, called the measures “practical, bipartisan steps Congress can take now.” The coalition says they would provide near-term stability while also moving Medicare toward predictable, inflation-based payment updates.