( StatePoint ) Accepting Medicare is becoming increasingly unsustainable for physicians , which has resulted in many practices refusing to take new Medicare patients , or even to shutter their doors . At the same time , millions of additional Americans are projected to rely on Medicare in the coming years . With a 3.37 % reduction to Medicare imposed at the start of this year , the American Medical Association ( AMA ) says that reforms are needed

to protect millions of Americans ’ access to their physicians .

“ After three consecutive years of Medicare cuts , physicians and patients are at a crossroads . Physicians have faced reductions in Medicare payments each of the past four years on top of steeply rising practice costs and the burdens of nearly four years of COVID-19 . Continuing down this road is unsustainable for many physicians , particularly those in smaller private practices ,” says Jesse M . Ehrenfeld ,

MD , MPH , president of the AMA .

An AMA analysis of Medicare Trustees data finds that Medicare physician payments increased by just 0.4 % a year between 2001 and 2023 . Meanwhile , the cost of running a medical practice — including office rent , employee wages and insurance premiums — went up by 47 % during that same period . Today , physicians are the only Medicare providers who do not receive an annual inflationary update , hindering their ability to

adequately pay staff , purchase new equipment and invest in their practices .

Struggling physician practices nationwide have already been forced to make such tough choices as refusing to accept Medicare , absorbing their practices into larger companies , and even shutting down operations entirely . As a result , some Medicare patients — like Dr . Ehrenfeld ’ s own parents , who recently struggled to find a new physician — will increasingly be left without access to high-quality care ,