Medicare Pay Raise Legislation
A bipartisan group of legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill a little over a month ago that would cancel the provider pay reductions for Medicare services that went into effect on January 1 of this year. The proposed legislation would make the rate change in the RBRVS conversion factor effective on April 1 and would be applicable for the balance of 2025. In other words, the current 2.83 percent Medicare pay cut would end on the last day of this month.
Known as the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025, the bill now making its way through Congress would not just rescind the conversion factor reduction but would actually provide a further increase in reimbursement rates. According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and a joint letter from 130 medical societies to House Speaker Mike Johnson, the bill would also add a two percent increase in the RBRVS conversion factor, which applies to non-anesthesia services, such as pain blocks, invasive line placements, and evaluation and management (E/M) services. (We have yet to see any direct reference by the ASA or the text of the bill itself to a change in the anesthesia conversion factor.) According to Fierce Healthcare, services furnished after March, “would see a 6.62 [percent] increase—offsetting the pay cut, adjusting for inflation and prorating the first three months of pay cuts.”
The bill was introduced by Representative Gregory Murphy of NC, a medical doctor. The legislation has 103 co-sponsors representing both major political parties. It remains to be seen if and when it will be voted on by the entire House. Then, of course, it would have to make its way through the U.S. Senate before making heading to the president’s desk. Many were hoping it would be included as part of the recently enacted continuing resolution, but such was not the case.
Corporate Transparency Act
On March 2, 2025, the U.S Department of the Treasury announced that, with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will also not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect.
Our readers will recall that, late last year, a federal court called into question the constitutionality of the CTA; and, so, things have been in a state of limbo concerning whether or not medical groups, for example, would need to meet the reporting requirements that were to begin this year. But now, the U.S. Treasury Department has further removed another leg out from under the CTA’s applicability and essentially rendered the act moot, at least within the boundaries of the United States.
The Department announced that it will be issuing a proposed rule that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only. “Treasury takes this step in the interest of supporting hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses and ensuring that the rule is appropriately tailored to advance the public interest,” according to the Treasury Department’s website. So, for those American medical group practices that were concerned about having to meet these reporting requirements, the federal government has just made your life a little less stressful.