ISMA, the AMA and other state and national medical specialty societies are asking the Biden Administration to prohibit service fees tacked on to Medicare reimbursements that are paid out through electronic fee transfers (EFTs). Also, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has responded to a July 29 letter opposing its plan to preempt state scope-of-practice laws for 48 types of health care practitioners it employs.

ISMA and the other organizations expressed their concern over the ETF fees in an Oct. 14 letter to Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The letter, which calls the fees “unfair business practices,” asks the CMS National Standards Group to issue guidance affirming physicians’ right to be paid through EFTs without additional fees and to enforce that policy. 

“In the absence of clear guidance and related enforcement on this issue, physicians have been plagued by financial losses and administrative burdens – an alarming result, given the efficiencies expected with the adoption of an electronic transaction standard,” the letter said. “We request that the Biden Administration swiftly address this problem.” 

VA letter response
The ISMA, the AMA and 102 state and specialty medical societies wrote to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in July to oppose the “Federal Supremacy Project.” The effort proposes to develop national standards of practice for 48 VA-employed health care occupations, including physicians. The VA recently sent a response and included a point-by-point discussion of physicians’ concerns and details about the approval process for the plan. The AMA will continue to meet with congressional staff and Veterans Services Organizations to express their concerns.