The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services wants to hold the line on expenses, while physicians want to be fairly compensated for their services. Resolving the conflict will not be easy, as a congressional hearing last week demonstrated.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee held last week discussed 23 bills or drafts that address how Medicare pays providers. Some draft bills focused on changing the payment formula CMS uses to calculate physician payments. CMS proposed a 3.3% cut to Medicare payments for 2024, the latest in a series of cuts due partly to budget neutrality rules.

Medicare payments to doctors have effectively been cut by 26% when adjusted for inflation since 2001, according to the American Medical Association. It also noted that reduced payments could lead to less access to care for Medicare recipients. If Congress doesn't act by the end of this year, Medicare will cut payments to doctors in certain rural areas and to laboratories that run tests used in caring for patients. Multiple subcommittee members also discussed whether Medicare payments should be indexed to inflation.