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Joint Replacements | Last Active: Oct 11 4:09pm | Replies (12)
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@covidstinks2023 I'm not exactly sure what bill you might be referring to. When I read your post I immediately went searching, and here is what I learned.
CMS (Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services) is proposing a RULE for 2027 that reduces the physician fee reimbursement for knee replacement surgery by 20%, but I cannot find a bill before Congress like you mentioned:
https://www.beckersspine.com/orthopedic/proposed-medicare-rule-threatens-20-pay-cut-for-hip-knee-replacements/
Keep in mind that physician reimbursement is the very smallest part of the cost of the entire procedure.
What does this mean for patients? We don't know, but possibly fewer docs willing replace hips or knees for people with Medicare, or a higher copay TO THE DOCTOR. Or it might mean higher premiums for supplements to make up for the lower Medicare reimbursements.
Needless to say, knee & hip surgeons are not happy since Medicare reimbursement lags far behind their usual fees, and is a driver behind what other insurance carriers for specific services.
What can we do? Your suggestion to write to legislators is a good one, but have the facts correct. Ask them to introduce a bill to more fully reimburse providers for their costs, and not to allow CMS to impose more limits on fees. Especially, not to cut rates when we all know costs are rising, not falling. (Doctors already had an 8% cut for this in July.)