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The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and 36 other health organizations, representing millions of clinicians, patients, and key members of the healthcare community, have joined together to urge Congress to support comprehensive primary care and the implementation of the G2211 code in 2024 — a Medicare billing code that will bolster the healthcare workforce and safeguard Medicare beneficiaries’ access to high-quality, patient-centered care.
Now you can too – Speak Out for the Medicare billing code G2211 by telling your legislators it’s time to recognize family medicine’s value as providers of comprehensive, longitudinal, patient-centered healthcare.
“Historic underinvestment in primary care has led to the fragmented, high-cost, hard-to-access healthcare system we have today,” said AAFP President Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, FAAFP. “Primary care delivers robust healthcare at lower costs, and it is past time we match its value with investment. The implementation of G2211 is an incremental but meaningful step toward rebuilding the foundation of primary care patients deserve: better healthcare, better outcomes, more primary care physicians, and lower costs.”
The G2211 code, which is under attack, reflects the time, intensity, and practice expense needed to establish meaningful relationships with patients and address their healthcare needs with consistency and continuity.
“Implementing G2211 will ensure that family physicians can continue to provide the services that cement them as a cornerstone of care—including managing chronic conditions and acute problems, modifying medication doses, administering vaccines, providing preventive screenings, and counseling on sleeping, eating, and exercising,” said Dr. Iroku-Malize. “By appropriately compensating clinicians for providing high-quality, low-cost care, G2211 will help improve health outcomes, strengthen the Medicare program, and allow practices to keep their doors open so they can continue to provide the person-centered, affordable care patients need.”
The letter follows the AAFP’s comments on the 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule, which applauds the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for advancing several proposals to support primary care. In addition to promptly implementing G2211, family physicians are encouraged by proposals to include new coding and payment for screening, addressing unmet social needs, and more accurate payment for behavioral health integration.
In addition to supporting the full implementation of G2211, Congress should turn its attention to long-overdue Medicare physician payment reforms. Practices across specialties face an untenable environment: Medicare payments are going down while beneficiaries’ needs and practice costs are going up. The physician community agrees that annual inflationary adjustments and budget neutrality relief are urgently needed.
“Now is the time for Congress and healthcare leaders to come together to boldly champion primary care and prioritize the health of our nation’s seniors,” said Dr. Iroku-Malize. “If the country is truly looking to improve access to care for all, we must embrace policy changes that will correct underinvestment in primary care.”
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