On March 9, H.R. 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, was signed into law and implemented a provision to mitigate the 3.37 percent Medicare payment cuts implemented on January 1, 2024. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated its website to reflect the new CY 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor.

The AUA recognizes Congress' recent efforts to alleviate these cuts. However, the adjustment reduces the cut to the conversion factor by an additional 1.68% for the remainder of 2024. This adjustment only represents approximately half of the 3.37% cut that went into effect earlier this year and is simply insufficient. For reference, these actions result in physicians receiving a more than 2% cut in Medicare reimbursements in 2024 (annualized) relative to 2023.

Since 2001, physicians have seen their Medicare payments decrease by nearly 30% after adjusting for inflation. As you know, easing the payment cuts was a focal point of the AUA Summit, and promoting practice sustainability remains a top legislative priority for the AUA. The AUA will continue working independently and with other like-minded physician groups to reduce the impact any payment cuts would have on the practice of urology and patient access.