This week, ASTRO joined 129 organizations in a letter to Congress urging swift action to both prevent the scheduled 2.83 percent payment cut under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and provide a positive payment update for 2025. This marks the fifth consecutive year CMS has proposed to cut physician reimbursement, and Radiation Oncology remains among the hardest hit specialties in overall reimbursement declines, over 23 percent cuts since just 2013.

With rising inflationary pressures, and without federal intervention to provide a payment increase, access to radiation therapy will suffer. For people with cancer, particularly in rural and underserved communities, access will be threatened. ASTRO encourages Congress to support and pass the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act (HR.10073) before the end of the 118th Congress. This legislation would take steps to stabilize payments in 2025, and pave the way for longer-term reforms. The ROCR Act would address long-term payment reforms for radiation oncology.