Academy continues to fight for Medicare physician payment reform

The Academy made Medicare physician payment reform its sole legislative advocacy focus and will continue to do so in 2026. Our goal is to stop annual payment cuts and for Congress to pass legislation that guarantees an annual update based on inflation.

In 2025, we saw a small first step when Congress passed a 2.5% increase in Medicare payment for 2026. As a result, CMS proposed an increase of 3.32% for most physicians in 2026. The temporary pay increase is a first step in stemming the tide of cuts physicians have faced for many years. However, the AADA will continue to advocate for Congress to protect patient access to physician care.

Throughout 2025, the AADA lobbied Congress to avert all Medicare payment cuts and reform Medicare physician payment, making this our sole federal legislative advocacy priority.

• The AADA worked with other specialty societies in a coalition to include Medicare physician payment action in budget reconciliation legislation. Together with 14 of the largest national medical societies, we sought a provision in the House bill that would adjust physician payments based on changes in practice costs, as measured by part of the Medicare Economic Index (MEI).

• The AADA and 74 other national specialty societies sent a letter to Senate Republican leadership urging them to include Medicare payment reform when the Senate considered the reconciliation package, resulting in the inclusion of the one-year physician pay bump after the Senate had initially removed the House’s MEI policy.

• AADA President Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, appointed the Ad Hoc Task Force on Preserving Physician Practices for Senior Citizen Care, comprised of past, present, and future Academy leaders, to find inventive new strategies to achieve Medicare physician payment reform.

• During a record-breaking AADA Legislative Conference in September, more than 200 dermatologists and patient advocates gathered in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to reform Medicare physician payment.

• The AADA endorsed a House bill that included an annual inflationary update to the Medicare physician fee schedule. The new Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6160) would provide an annual inflationary update to Medicare physician payments.

The AADA is not done fighting for annual inflation-based updates and will continue to work with federal lawmakers to ensure a stable and sustainable payment system for physicians and the patients they serve. Learn more about how you can get involved in advocacy.