Lawmakers eye partial increase for Medicare doctor pay

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are considering increasing doctors’ Medicare pay in an upcoming government funding package, but their policy would only partially offset cuts providers saw earlier this year, three lobbyists and two sources familiar with the talks told STAT.

Physicians’ groups have agitated for Congress to undo a roughly 3.4% Medicare pay cut this year, resulting from the expiration of pandemic-era bonuses lawmakers chose to give the industry.

The cut went into effect on Jan. 1, but a fix hasn’t entirely fallen off of the agenda. A pay increase was discussed in negotiations over a stopgap funding bill earlier this year.

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