July 18, 2023: MGMA submits testimony to Congress on overregulation in healthcare

July 18, 2023 

Re: MGMA Testimony — “Burdensome Red Tape: Overregulation in Health Care and the Impact on Small Businesses”

Dear Chairwoman Van Duyne and Ranking Member Mfume:

On behalf of our member medical group practices, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) would like to thank the Subcommittee for holding this hearing on “Burdensome Red Tape: Overregulation in Health Care and the Impact on Small Businesses.” We appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback on this important topic.

With a membership of more than 60,000 medical practice administrators, executives, and leaders, MGMA represents more than 15,000 group medical practices ranging from small private medical practices to large national health systems representing more than 350,000 physicians. MGMA has long advocated that policymakers scale back regulatory burden for medical practices, arguing that these requirements divert time and resources away from delivering patient care. Yet, as indicated in MGMA’s annual regulatory burden surveys, the onerous requirements imposed on medical groups continue to rise, further impeding a practice’s ability to ensure high-quality, timely patient care. MGMA’s diverse membership uniquely situates us to offer the following feedback regarding the impact of regulatory burden on small medical group practices.

Background

Research published by Health Affairs found that administrative spending accounts for between 15 and 30% of medical spending. Separately, Health Affairs also noted that not all administrative spending adds value, citing the redundancy of quality and pay-for-performance systems. Medical groups constantly face a barrage of administrative and regulatory burdens that divert resources away from patient care. Eighty-nine percent of medical groups report that the overall regulatory burden on their practices has increased over the past 12 months and 97% of medical groups report that a reduction in regulatory burden would allow for reallocation of resources toward patient care. MGMA is encouraged by the Subcommittee’s willingness to examine the impact of burdensome red tape on small businesses. We support policies that promote innovative, high-quality, and cost-effective care delivery untethered from excessive, one-size-fits-all regulations.
 

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