• Press Release

AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, issued the following statement on the calendar year (CY) 2027 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule released today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

"The AAMC is deeply troubled by provisions in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' proposed CY 2027 hospital OPPS rule released today, which will undermine the ability of academic health systems, teaching hospitals, and their physician faculty to adequately care for the patients and communities they serve.

The proposed cuts to Medicare reimbursement for hospital outpatient departments, severe reduction in drug reimbursement for 340B hospitals, and the accelerated recoupment of billions of dollars related to previous unlawful 340B hospital payment cuts, would have devastating and enduring effects on access to care for patients across the country. These payment proposals disproportionately affect organizations that care for many of the nation's most medically complex patients, threatening access to critical services and leading to worsening health outcomes.

The four mission areas of academic medicine - clinical care, medical education and training, biomedical research, and community collaborations - are so deeply connected that cuts to one mission, in this case the clinical mission, would harm the effectiveness of the others. Every dollar that is cut from teaching hospitals is a dollar that can no longer support patient care, physician training, or investments in life-saving research.

The AAMC urges CMS not to finalize these proposals as they will harm access to care and the health of patients and communities."