American Society of Anesthesiologists Extremely Disappointed with Absence of 'Doc Fix' in Funding Package

CHICAGO — Today, ASA President Donald E. Arnold, M.D., FACHE, FASA, issued the following statement regarding the recent release of a federal government funding package that does not include critically needed Medicare physician payment relief:

“On behalf of the nation’s anesthesiologists, I am extremely disappointed in the lack of a “Doc Fix” in the funding package released over the weekend. Every day our highly skilled anesthesiologists, whether involved in anesthesia, critical care or pain medicine services, provide safe, high-quality care to tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries. Yet, right now, these physicians are again the subject of a punitive payment cut. The current cut, which went into effect on January 1, 2025, is more than 2%, not factoring in inflation. Medicare payments for physician services are already unreasonably low making yet another round of cuts even more damaging. Adjusted for inflation, Medicare payments to anesthesiologists are about half of what they were in 1991. Congress must fix this broken and unsustainable system. The first thing they can do is stop the current cut before it continues any longer and the vehicle to do that is the government funding bill or continuing resolution. Congress, please act.”  

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 59,000 members organized to advance the medical practice of anesthesiology and secure its future. ASA is committed to ensuring anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of all patients before, during, and after surgery. ASA members also lead the care of critically ill patients in intensive care units, as well as treat pain in both acute and chronic settings.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about how anesthesiologists help ensure patient safety, visit asahq.org/madeforthismoment. Like ASA on Facebook and follow ASALifeline on X.

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