Ways and Means Committee Advances ASA-Supported Budget Neutrality Reform Legislation

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC)-authored and ASA-endorsed H.R. 8163, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act of 2026, by a whopping unanimous and bipartisan 44-0 vote. This legislation would reform the Medicare physician fee schedule’s punitive budget neutrality provisions – provisions that transfer Medicare fee schedule dollars from one set of services to another in a zero-sum mechanism. The legislation would increase the triggering budget neutrality threshold, allow for corrections to frequent calculation errors by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that have negatively affected payments for anesthesiology services and other non-primary care services, and put restrictions on cuts to Medicare Physician Fee Schedule cuts. 

The bill can now move to the House floor for full consideration. In addition to supporting this legislation, ASA continues to fight for a permanent “doc fix” that includes an inflationary adjustment. 

The bill was introduced by Congressman Greg Murphy, MD, (R-NC-03), who recently spoke at ASA LEGCON 26, and included 44 bipartisan cosponsors.

Read more about the legislation.