As a new Congress convenes, ACP is asking ACP members to urge their members of Congress to prioritize health care and pass legislation that addresses Medicare physician payment cuts, extends telehealth flexibilities long-term, and reforms the prior authorization process. 

Background 

The last Congress failed to pass legislation that would have addressed these issues in an end-of-year package. As a result, a 2.8 percent cut to physician Medicare payments went into effect on January 1, 2025, and a number of bipartisan health care policies were not finalized, including prior authorization reform and a long-term extension of telehealth coverage flexibilities. We need your help to get these critical issues resolved. 

The 2.8 percent cut to Medicare physician payment that went into effect on January 1, is the result of complex budgetary rules and systemic flaws within the physician fee schedule (PFS). This is the fifth straight year that the final PFS rule includes an across-the-board cut to payment rates for physicians and other clinicians. Congress has passed legislation over the past four years to mitigate portions of these cuts, and needs to act again to stop the current cut.  

Last year, ACP supported the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, which would protect patients from unnecessary delays in care and reduce administrative burden on physicians by streamlining the prior authorization approval processes in Medicare Advantage.  The legislation had bipartisan support with 231 cosponsors in the House and 59 cosponsors in the Senate. ACP supports a re-introduction of the Improving Senior’s Timely Access to Care Act in the current Congress and its inclusion in any new package of health care legislation. 

ACP has also supported a long-term extension of telehealth flexibilities that included the removal of geographic restrictions, expansion of originating sites required for telehealth visits, audio-only telehealth access and that allows for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to continue providing telehealth service. In the government-funding continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress last month, these telehealth flexibilities were extended but only until March 2025 when the resolution expires. Congress will need to act again to extend these flexibilities. 

Action Requested: Please send an email message to your members of Congress expressing the need to prioritize these important health care issues. A sample letter has been provided for you that can be personalized. Simply click on the “Take Action” link below, follow the prompts, and submit your letters electronically. 

Please contact Shuan Tomlinson at stomlinson@acponline.org with any questions about this campaign. Thank you for your continued advocacy.