Modifier 25 Media Report

Leadership voices: Protecting access to care

“Physician practices are already being squeezed from every direction. Years of inadequate Medicare payment have made it harder to keep staff, invest in care, and maintain patient access. Now CMS is proposing to pay half for medically necessary work that physicians are still expected to perform in full. At some point, the math stops working—and when that happens, every patient in the practice feels it.”

— Rahul K. Shah, MD, MBA, Academy CEO and Executive Vice President

“The care does not become less important because it happens on the same day as a procedure. If I evaluate an older patient and find something concerning, I may be able to begin the next step in that evaluation right then. I am still doing the same careful work, making the same medical decisions, and taking the same responsibility for that patient. Paying half for that care undervalues what physicians are actually doing for our seniors.”

— Eugene Brown III, MD, RPh, Academy President and CEO of Charleston ENT & Allergy

www.ENTsCare4Medicare.org

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