Legislation to Block Clinical Labor Pricing Update Will Hurt Primary Care, Worsen Staffing Shortages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
November 23, 2021

Statement attributable to:
Sterling N. Ransone, Jr., MD, FAAFP
President
American Academy of Family Physicians

“The American Academy of Family Physicians firmly supports the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ plans to modernize Medicare clinical labor pricing in 2022—a long overdue update that would support physician practices’ ability to hire and retain clinical staff.

“However, the Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6048) was recently introduced in Congress and would stop the clinical labor pricing update and prohibit CMS from updating this data. Halting this much-needed update of Medicare clinical labor pricing will undermine primary care practices’ ability to hire and retain nurses, medical assistants, and other essential clinical staff. This would result in lower Medicare payments to family medicine practices next year and worsen ongoing staffing shortages for years to come.

“Clinical labor pricing is the portion of Medicare physician payments that account for the costs of employing nurses, medical assistants, and other essential clinical staff. The data CMS uses for clinical labor pricing hasn’t been updated since 2002, almost twenty years, negatively impacting primary care and other specialties that rely on these care team members every day.

“Primary care physicians are counting on the clinical labor pricing update to protect practices and the patients we care for. Amid recruitment and retention struggles in the wake of widespread staff shortages, the AAFP strongly urges Congress to oppose H.R. 6048 and instead, support CMS' plan to begin updating clinical labor pricing in 2022 and embrace policies that strengthen primary care.”

Editor's Note: To arrange an interview with Dr. Ransone, contact Julie Hirschhorn, 202-655-4949, or jhirschhorn@aafp.org.

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