CMS Announces No Surprises Act Updates On October 6, 2023, CMS announced that it has reopened the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) portal for new single and bundled (but not batched) claims under the No Surprises Act process. The IDR portal had been suspended on August 3 for all claims, and on September 21, the portal...

House of Representatives Subcommittee Holds Hearings on Medicare Payment Policies On October 19, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives, despite not have a Speaker of the House, held a meeting of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Frank Pallone (R) of New Jersey. During the meeting, Dr. Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD, Director,...

Members of Congress Urged to Reform Policies Requiring Budget Neutrality Within the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule A coalition of professional medical societies, including ISASS, submitted a letter on October 31, 2023, to members of the US Congress thanking them for their efforts on reform policies requiring the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule to maintain budget neutrality...

Physician Burnout Is Growing On October 19, 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on rates of burnout for U.S. health care professionals, including physicians. Perceptions of working conditions and mental health status from 2018-2022 were tracked, and the resulting study found that health care workers reported more days...