Doctors, hospitals hit with Medicare pay cuts in 2024 in final CMS rule

Physicians will see a 3.4% decrease in a key factor used to determine their base Medicare pay in 2024. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, touted the benefits in announcing the final rule late last week.

“CMS remains steadfast in our commitment to supporting physicians and ensuring that people with Medicare have access to the care they need to stay healthy, as well as navigate health conditions they are facing,” she said. “CMS is taking important steps toward those goals in this rule by improving payment for primary care and access to mental health care; paying for new navigation services to help people with cancer and other serious illnesses navigate their treatment; supporting family caregivers; paying for services involving community health workers to address health-related social needs that impact care; and enhancing access to dental care for people with certain cancers.”

However, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, president of the American Medical Association, criticized the pay reduction. He noted that the Medicare Economic Index, which measures medical practice cost inflation, increased 4.6%, the highest in the last 23 years. The drop in physician pay will be challenging, especially for independent physicians.