Washington, D.C. – Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Terri Sewell (D-AL), and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) reintroduced the Keep Physicians Serving Patients Act, legislation to help ensure seniors in rural America have access to health care providers by adjusting the geographic practice cost index (GPCI) to more accurately portray the costs of practicing medicine in rural areas.
The members released the following statements:
“Ensuring Medicare providers in rural communities are not unfairly impacted from lower payments based on an outdated geographic practice cost index (GPCI) is critical for access to care in Illinois,” said Rep. LaHood. “I am proud to join this bipartisan group to introduce this commonsense bill, which will modernize the GPCI formula, accounting for the unique practice needs of rural providers, and ensure physicians can continue serving patients in need regardless of where they live.”
“The last thing rural communities need is to lose health care providers to an outdated, flawed reimbursement index,” said Rep. Smith. “Modernizing the GPCI is a commonsense step we can take to ensure Medicare patients in rural America have access to care while also setting a reasonable, responsible reimbursement minimum for rural providers. I thank Reps. Sewell, LaHood, and Stansbury for partnering with me on this important legislation.”
“We in Alabama have seen our rural health care providers come under immense strain, due in part to Medicare reimbursement rates that fail to fully reflect the cost of providing services in smaller, rural communities,” said Rep. Sewell. “By modernizing the GPCI, this legislation would help ensure that providers are fairly reimbursed so that our health care professionals can focus on treating patients and saving lives.”
“Seniors in our rural communities, and the physicians that serve them, are on the frontlines of the healthcare crisis. Rural America, especially in New Mexico, have been left behind,” said Rep. Stansbury. “Health care providers are leaving rural areas because of an outdated system that doesn’t accurately calculate reimburse costs, making practicing in rural areas unaffordable for providers. The Keep Physicians Serving Patients Act corrects for this by adjusting the geographic practice cost index (GPCI), assuring that the costs of practicing medicine in rural areas is accurately portrayed and reimbursed to rural providers. I’m happy to join this bipartisan coalition in reintroducing this crucial piece of legislation, which will pave the way to ensure care for our seniors in rural America.”
Currently, Medicare adjusts payments to providers based on GPCI estimates; however, the index consistently underestimates the costs associated with practicing medicine in rural communities. This leads to rural providers receiving lower, less competitive payment than providers practicing in more urban areas. The Keep Physicians Serving Patients Act – which you can read here – would set a permanent minimum GCPI to ensure all providers are adequately and fairly compensated for their services.
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