5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  Medicare reimbursements for ophthalmic surgeons are declining, with a 2.83% cut expected in 2025, continuing a long trend of reduced payments.

• 2

  Payments for complex cataract surgery have decreased by nearly 12.5% from 2018 to 2025, while simple cataract surgery payments have dropped by about 20.5%.

• 3

  Physician payments under Medicare have declined by 33% from 2001 to 2025, contrasting with rising payments to hospitals and other healthcare entities.

• 4

  The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act aims to reverse the payment cuts and provide a modest increase, but it is still under review.

• 5

  Ophthalmologists can influence payment rates by participating in surveys conducted by the Relative Value Scale Update Committee to assess procedure intensity.