Dr. David Gang: Medicare payment cuts threaten services

I am writing to ask that U.S. Rep. Richie Neal support efforts to provide additional relief from the Medicare payment cuts scheduled to take effect in January 2024. As a pathologist in western Massachusetts, I am extremely concerned about the consequences these cuts will have on our ability at Baystate Health to provide diagnostic care to our community.

Among the reimbursements scheduled to be cut are those to specialists, including pathologists. Our lab runs many thousands of critical tests for patients in Massachusetts to determine whether they have cancer, chronic kidney disease or one of countless other life-changing conditions. My colleagues and I provide critical information to treating physicians that can have life or death consequences for our patients.

Pathology plays an integral role in diagnosing and understanding disease. Our work is necessary to guide treatment decisions, track disease progression, support public health and public health emergencies, direct test selection, develop lab tests, and support medical advancements. These cuts could have far-reaching consequences for the stability of medical laboratories both here and across the nation.

It is imperative for our community that Congress help mitigate these cuts. This relief will provide crucial short-term financial stability until permanent, bipartisan health care payment reform is enacted.

Dr. David Gang

Longmeadow