Bipartisan bill ties Medicare physician pay to inflation, targets imaging prior auth reform

Bipartisan lawmakers introduced the Patients First Act to tie Medicare physician reimbursement to inflation and ease burdens for independent practices, with provisions to streamline the stalled imaging appropriate use criteria (AUC) program. The move follows a new CMS fee schedu…

• The bill would increase the Medicare budget neutrality threshold from $20 million to $54.3 million and establish a primary care hybrid payment pilot.
• It incorporates the previously proposed ROOT Act, which the ACR projects could save Medicare $2 billion and beneficiaries $1.5 billion over a decade by requiring decision support for advanced imaging orders.
• 70% of U.S. medical practices are now owned by hospitals or corporations, and the RBMA says inflation-informed updates will help preserve access to imaging services.

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