AAPM&R submitted comments on June 12 in response to a white paper on physician payment reform commissioned by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. The white paper, titled “Bolstering Chronic Care through Physician Payment: Current Challenges and Policy Options in Medicare Part B,” focuses on steps that the committee can take to reform the physician payment system under the Medicare program. The Senate Committee on Finance is one of the primary congressional committees of jurisdiction for health policy, and is responsible for developing legislation related to the Medicare program.

AAPM&R thanked the committee for engaging in this important work and provided recommendations to the committee on potential avenues to consider for payment reform in order to provide stability for physicians and ensure access to care for patients. These recommendations included, among others:

• providing positive annual updates to the physician fee schedule
• reforming current congressional budgetary policies that impact the ability to reform the current payment system
• encouraging wider participation in data registries 

If you have any questions or comments on the need to improve physician payment under the Medicare program or AAPM&R’s engagement with Congress, please contact the AAPM&R Health Policy team at healthpolicy@aapmr.org.