ACS Advocacy Brief: October 6

Urge Your Lawmakers to Stop Medicare Payment Cuts

The calendar year 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule once again jeopardizes the financial stability of many surgical practices by cutting the Medicare conversion factor by 4.42%. Additionally, surgeons are facing financial pressures from the pending 4% PAYGO cut that is set to take effect on January 1, 2023, and years of stagnant payments that have not kept up with the cost of practicing medicine.

As part of a comprehensive advocacy effort, the ACS recently led a coalition letter from 21 organizations representing surgeons and anesthesiologists, as well as a letter from a coalition of organizations representing more than one million physician and non-physician healthcare clinicians in support of the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022. This legislation, which was recently introduced by Representatives Ami Bera, MD (D-CA), and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN), would stop the proposed 4.42% cut to Medicare physician payment.

Additionally, every ACS state chapter signed onto a letter urging action on the 4.42% cut, the looming 4% PAYGO cut, and the need for an inflationary update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule based on the Medicare Economic Index. 

Advocate at Home to Help Stop Medicare Payment Cuts

With many lawmakers traveling to their states/districts before the November US elections, the ACS’s Advocacy at Home efforts will continue through October. Participating in the program and meeting with your elected officials provides an excellent opportunity to educate and engage key decision makers about how proposed Medicare payment could impact patient access to timely, quality care. Sharing personal examples and stories is another effective way to demonstrate challenges and amplify the importance of action.

Time is of the essence, and advocating at home is easy through the online resources available via SurgeonsVoice.

• Write Congress. Visit SurgeonsVoice and send a pre-drafted letter urging your Representative to cosponsor the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022.
• Meet with your legislators, virtually or in-person. Use the SurgeonsVoice online scheduling toolto submit your request, and congressional staff will contact you for more information. Once your meeting is confirmed, review Advocacy at Home resources and tips for successful meetings. ACS staff is also available to provide specific talking points or other information to help make your meeting a success.
• Engage via social media. Follow @SurgeonsVoice, @SurgeonsCare, and @AmCollSurgeons on Twitter to learn more about ongoing advocacy efforts to stop the cuts and protect patient access. Tag your colleagues, ACS Chapters, and elected officials to amplify our reach!

For more information, contact the ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy at ahp@facs.org.

Take Advantage of New Practice Management Resource

Recognizing the importance of engaging legal services for the negotiation and review of employment contract agreements, the ACS has partnered with Resolve to provide a tiered menu of contract review services at a 10% discount as an ACS member benefit. Services are provided by Resolve’s team of experienced attorneys.

To access this member benefit, log in to facs.org for information on how to obtain the discount.

Stopgap Government Funding Includes Healthcare Provisions

Last week, President Biden signed a stopgap spending bill funding the government at current levels through December 16. The continuing resolution (CR) also reauthorizes medical product user fees at the Food and Drug Administration for 5 years, includes $12 billion in new assistance to Ukraine, $2 billion for US disaster relief, $2.5 billion for New Mexico wildfires, and $1 billion for in-home heating assistance. It also includes language allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to access $35 billion in disaster relief funds to quickly aid victims of Hurricane Ian.

Congressional appropriators have already begun negotiations on an omnibus end-of-year spending package. The ACS continues to monitor the appropriations process and will report on any news that affects US surgeons and healthcare.

House Votes to Reauthorize Trauma Grants

The US House of Representatives recently passed via voice vote the Improving Trauma Systems and Emergency Care Act, which reauthorizes funding for grant programs to support national trauma care, readiness, and coordination and improve trauma care in rural areas. Funding had previously expired in 2015.

If enacted into law, the bill would support research and demonstration projects and improve trauma care coordination in rural areas.  The grants, administered by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the Department of Health and Human Services, would support trauma centers by strengthening coordination and communication and by developing approaches to improve emergency medical and trauma system access. A Senate version of the bill was passed by the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions earlier this year as part of the PREVENT Pandemics Act.

ACS Fellow Advocacy Drives Passage of STOP THE BLEED Bill in California

In a victory for public safety and ACS advocacy, on September 27 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed STOP THE BLEED®-supported legislation into law. This bill, “Emergency Response: Trauma Kits,” requires the installation of trauma bleeding control kits in newly constructed public and private buildings throughout the state and is the first state-level bleeding control bill of its kind to be enacted in the US.

“We are proud of our California member surgeons who helped make this legislation a reality. A bleeding emergency can happen anywhere, and by prominently placing bleeding control kits in public places, California empowers its citizens to step in and save lives when a bleeding emergency occurs,” said ACS Executive Director Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS.

The San Diego-Imperial, Northern California, and Southern California State Chapters of the ACS, and the bill’s primary cosponsors—State Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D) and State Senator Ben Hueso (D)—led the effort to pass the legislation, along with a coalition comprising an additional 11 trauma physician-related organizations. The ACS State Affairs team worked with ACS members residing in California and submitted letters from the California State Chapters, the Committee on Trauma, and the coalition to Governor Newsom.