Medicare proposal pitched as way to thwart medical deserts

(The Center Square) – Stability for physicians and patients is sought through a North Carolina congressman’s proposal updating Medicare’s fee schedule for the first time since its establishment in 1992.

U.S. Rep. Dr. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., a practicing urologist, ran the bill in the 118th Congress and on Tuesday said he would try again. The Provider Reimbursement Stability Act, Murphy says, will help halt the shuttering of doctor’s offices across the country where the causes are increased medical costs and “persistent cuts” to their reimbursements.

“With expenses for providing care continuing to rise, declining payments are forcing many doctors into retirement, to stop seeing Medicare patients, or to sell out to consolidated hospital systems, private equity, or even insurance companies just to keep practicing,” Murphy said. “As a result, access to care in rural and underserved communities is drying up. In an era of a shortage of physicians, we cannot lose good doctors to these ever-increasing pressures. ...