MedPAC Advises Congress to Increase Physician Pay Rates

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Annual Report to the Congress evaluates payment adequacy, beneficiary access, quality of care, and the sustainability of Medicare spending.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is recommending a permanent increase to physician payment starting in 2027. In its annual report, MedPAC notes that clinicians are facing higher costs that could be difficult for practices to absorb.

The commission’s recommendations include –

• 2027 physician payment should increase by 0.5 percentage points above currently legislated rates; and
• The increase should be permanent.

MedPAC Also Reports Growth in Service Volume

As the agency responsible for advising Congress on Medicare payment policy, MedPAC evaluates payment adequacy, beneficiary access, quality of care, and the sustainability of Medicare spending. According to this year’s report, the volume of allowed services per Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary grew by 7.1% from 2023 to 2024. The largest contributor to the growth was evaluation and management services (up 10.9%), followed by treatments (up 7.6%), non-major procedures (up 3.6%), and imaging (up 3.3%).

“The MedPAC report shows that, although overall volume outpaced spending growth in 2024, charges for allowed imaging services increased at a higher rate than units of service,” says ASNC President Jamieson M. Bourque, MD, MHS, FASNC. “This finding suggests there may have been a shift toward advanced diagnostic imaging, which certainly corresponds with the robust growth in cardiac PET imaging that we have observed.”

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule will be released in July. Stay tuned for analysis from your ASNC team.

MedPAC Report