Patient care under continued threat in proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

Jul 08, 2022

The SVS Urges Congress to address systemic challenges to stop the annual reductions that harm patient care.

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2022 – The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2023 (CY2023) released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) once again jeopardizes seniors’ access to critical treatments and procedures, argues the Surgical Care Coalition. 

As part of the Surgical Care Coalition, SVS will support the coalition’s effort to work with Congress to stop planned cuts to Medicare payments that would hurt patients. CMS is proposing to cut the Medicare conversion factor—the basic starting point for calculating Medicare payments—by 4.42% for CY2023.

As vascular surgery faces another round of proposed cuts, it’s clear these temporary fixes threaten patient care year after year and are unsustainable for the long term. Congress must take action to stop another round of cuts, while also stabilizing the system, to protect patients and the care they need.

“This year’s proposed rule is yet another example of how the current payment system fails to support physicians and the patients they serve,” said Matthew J. Sideman, MD, Chair of the SVS Advocacy Council. “These significant year-over-year payment cuts will most certainly jeopardize patient access to critical vascular health care. Congress must begin work in earnest to avert these cuts and establish a new payment system that will provide stability for both physicians and patients."

About the SVS

The Society for Vascular Surgery is the leading not-for-profit, professional medical society on establishing causes and treatments for vascular disease. SVS seeks to advance excellence and innovation in vascular health through education, advocacy, research and public awareness and is composed of specialty-trained vascular surgeons who are dedicated to providing comprehensive care for vascular disease. For more information visit www.vascular.org. Follow the SVS on Facebook @VascularHealth, Twitter @VascularSVS and Instagram @societyforvascularsurgery.

About the Surgical Care Coalition

The Surgical Care Coalition advocates for access to quality surgical care for all Americans. The Surgical Care Coalition is comprised of 14 surgical professional associations that proudly represent the more than 180,000 surgeons working across the country with a common goal of improving the quality of care, and quality of life, for all patients.

Read Surgical Care Coalition press release.