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Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

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Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits

Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

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Advocacy

US Surgeons: Urge Congressional Action on Medicare Payment Issues

September 24, 2024

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The College has either taken the lead or supported several actions with other medical organizations urging Congress to address the 2.8% Medicare payment cut set to begin in 2025. Your voice is also essential to prompt action from your elected officials.

The ACS led development of a statement signed by more than 20 organizations representing surgeons and anesthesiologists on the challenges facing surgical care and urged Congress to ensure a stable Medicare physician payment policy.

Surgeons and anesthesiologists are expecting the 2.8% payment cut because temporary congressional relief is set to expire at the end of the year. The ACS strongly opposes these planned cuts, which will reduce payments for surgical care, taking effect in January 2025.

In the statement, the ACS provided several long-term solutions that would greatly improve the flawed physician payment system. The College will continue to work with Congress on bringing stability to Medicare payment and reforming the broken system. 

In addition, the ACS recently signed a letter urging Congressional leadership to address the pending Medicare physician payments cuts by providing an inflationary update in 2025 and beyond.

This letter, signed by more than 120 organizations representing more than one million clinicians and the patients that they serve, discussed the importance of an inflationary update and the need for clinicians to have financial stability to protect beneficiary access to high-quality care.

Use Your Voice

As powerful a force for advocacy as the ACS is, every individual surgeon can exert powerful influence over their legislators to prioritize the needs of surgery.

The ACS is strongly supporting a congressional sign-on letter being circulated by Representatives addressed to House leadership that urges swift action stopping the full 2.8% cut by providing an inflationary update equivalent to the Medicare Economic Index.

The CY 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule highlights that practice costs such as rent, staff salaries, and supplies are expected to rise significantly next year, making action more important than ever.

Visit SurgeonsVoice and write to your Representative today, telling them to cosign the letter that will help protect surgical practices and Medicare patients.

Act Now

Read the September Advocacy Brief for more information.