Advocacy in Action

Endocrine Society Rallies for NIH

On September 17, members of the Endocrine Society joined advocates from around the country to call on Congress to provide increased funding for biomedical research as part of the 13th annual Rally for Medical Research. During the meetings, our members helped to raise the profile of endocrine research and reinforce the urgent need to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and protect NIH from administration proposals that would undermine the agency’s ability to fund meritorious scientific research.

The Rally is a high-profile event on the Capitol Hill with three hundred meetings taking place over the course of the day and the Endocrine Society once again provided a large contingent of members from important states and districts for the event. This year’s event was critical, as NIH not only faces funding challenges but also is under threat from a proposed rule issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that would place political considerations above merit-based scientific review for the selection and administration of grants. The rule would also impose restrictions and barriers on the dissemination of scientific information through publications and conferences.

During the meetings with Congressional offices, Rally participants reinforced the following important messages:

• We expressed appreciation to Congress for providing consistent bipartisan support for NIH and urged it to provide NIH with at least $51.3 billion in 2027.
• We asked Congress to intervene and permanently block the proposed OMB rule from being finalized or going into effect.

HOW YOU CAN PROTECT RESEARCH: NIH urgently needs additional funding, but the agency also needs to be able to spend money in the way that Congress and taxpayers rightly expect. We encourage all members of the Society to share our message by sending a letter to your Representative and Senators through our new campaign. Taking action will take only a minute of your time and will have a real impact!

House Energy & Commerce Committee Conducts Hearing on Legislation to Reform Medicare Physician Payment and Improve Access to Therapeutic Shoes for People with Diabetes

On September 15, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce conducted a hearing focused on legislation to improve the Medicare physician payment system and ways to provide greater stability for health care providers across the country. During the hearing, the committee reviewed seventeen bills including four pieces of legislation important to the Society. The Patients First Act (H.R. 9693) would reform Medicare physician payments by providing more predictable annual updates, modifying budget-neutrality rules, and creating a hybrid payment model for participating primary care practices. This legislation would provide an annual inflationary update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule tied to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). The bill would also establish a primary-care hybrid payment pilot program for physicians. The Society urged the bill sponsors to make endocrinologists and other non-procedural specialists eligible for the add-on payment by defining primary care in such a manner that would capture primary care physicians, endocrinologists, and other non-procedural specialties. The Committee also reviewed the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act (H.R. 8163) which would make necessary updates to the MPFS to improve the stability of the system. The Society has endorsed  this legislation, which represents a necessary step toward building a more rational, predictable Medicare physician payment system that preserves patient access to care and reflects the true cost of delivering high-quality medical services.

The Committee also reviewed two pieces of legislation that would improve access to diabetic shoes for people living with diabetes on Medicare. The Society supports efforts to improve access to medically necessary foot care and therapeutic footwear for people with diabetes, including joining a coalition letter urging Medicare policymakers to remove unnecessary administrative barriers that limit access to therapeutic shoes for people with diabetes.

We are encouraged to see members on both sides of the aisle considering legislation to reform Medicare provider payment and ensuring that diabetic patients receive appropriate quality foot and ankle care. The Endocrine Society will continue to closely monitor these legislative efforts and keep members informed of any important developments.

Society Submits Comments on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule

On September 11, the Endocrine Society submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule for Calendar Year 2027. This rule, which is published annually, updates the payment policies and payment rates for Part B services furnished under the MPFS. This year’s rule, if finalized, would result in a 2.5% increase for the endocrinology specialty, but would also result in an overall decrease of 2.5% to the conversion factor for all physicians. Congressional intervention is necessary to update the conversion factor, and the Society continues to urge Congress to pass legislation providing an annual inflationary update to the MPFS tied to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) that would override the rule.

The Society commented on several provisions in the rule that are important to endocrinologists. CMS has proposed creating a new practice expense equipment item for Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA), ER130 ("Fine Needle Aspiration portable ultrasound"). The Society advocated for this update to the practice expense inputs for FNA services and we worked with other medical societies to push for this change at the CPT and RUC. The Society supports this change which is an important win for endocrinologists who perform FNAs. CMS has also proposed deleting the recently created G2211 complex care code and creating a new modifier code (MOD1) to take its place. The modifier, when appended to an appropriate E/M code, will increase payment by 16% of the value of the reported E/M CPT code. However, we are deeply concerned about the impact this will have on work RVUs, particularly for endocrinologists and other physicians who practice at larger hospital systems and universities. This proposed change would result in a loss of work RVUs for those who practice at larger systems. In our letter, we urge the agency not to finalize this proposal and to keep the G2211 code. Finally, we are asking CMS not to finalize a proposal that would reduce payment when using a Modifier 25 code under certain circumstances when being billed for an E/M visit.

The Endocrine Society staff worked closely with the Clinical Affairs Core Committee (CACC) to draft our comments. We thank the committee for their feedback and collaboration on this important issue. The final rule is expected to be released by early November at the latest. You can read the letter we submitted posted here on our website.