The Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) coordinates grassroots advocacy campaigns to help physicians reach out to their legislators on timely issues of concern and importance. Currently, MSMS is encouraging physicians to speak out on Medicare payment, preserving Medicaid, and extending telehealth waivers. The process is simple, click on the links below to take you to the advocacy websites, then fill out the requested information, and hit send.

• Medicare Physician Reimbursement - On January 31^st, Reps. Greg Murphy, MD (R-NC) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), along with a bipartisan group of legislators, re-introduced the “Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act” (H.R. 879).  This legislation seeks to prospectively, effective April 1 through December 31, 2025, stop, in full, the 2.83% cut physicians received on January 1, 2025.  The legislation also provides physicians with an additional 2% payment increase to help reflect rising costs pertaining to running a practice. 

Including H.R. 879 in the next spending package is the top priority! That's why it is so important that you contact your representative today and urge them to pass "The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act" (H.R. 879).

• Protect Medicaid - On February 25, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the “Concurrent Budget Resolution,” the first step in the Reconciliation process and opening the door to upwards of $880 billion in potential cuts to the Medicaid program.

Reach out to your legislators today and demand that they protect Medicaid funding!

These cuts could dramatically impact the lives of millions of our country’s most vulnerable populations – children, pregnant women, seniors and low-income families – many who rely on Medicaid for essential care. Medicaid provides not only healthcare but also economic security, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Michigan Medicaid provides approximately 2.8 million people with health care coverage, including 1.1 million children.  Additionally, 39 percent of the births in Michigan were covered by Medicaid and one in ten veterans in the United States relies upon Medicaid.

• Extend Telehealth Waivers - The American Relief Act of 2025 (HR 105450) approved by Congress at the end of 2024 provided a temporary extension of telehealth waivers of the geographic, site of service, and practitioner type restrictions through March 31, 2025. Congressional action is needed to either extend or make permanent these telehealth flexibilities that patients have become accustomed to over the past several years. Don’t delay, let your legislators know that their help is needed to ensure the seamless continuation of telehealth services!