SCAI, along with a coalition of more than 100 other physician organizations, joined together in the attached letter to urge Congress and the Administration to maintain the 3.75% increase to the Medicare Conversion Factor through at least calendar years 2022 and 2023, as it did for FY2021. If finalized, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor would be reduced in FY2022 to $33.58, which would also include more than a dollars decrease due to the budget neutrality requirements. The potential impact of the proposed 3.75 percent reduction to the conversion factor requires Congress to act, as it did last year to address the Public Health Emergency caused by COVID-19 pandemic, to avoid this result.   

The letter also calls on Congress to address the critical long-term challenges associated with Medicare payment policy, specifically the budget neutrality provision that has precipitated these steep cuts. SCAI will continue to fight against any potential future Medicare payment reductions.