New Dem Doctors Caucus Pushes For MA Oversight, Slams GOP Over Medicaid Cuts

The newly formed Democratic Congressional Doctors Caucus hopes to work with the longstanding GOP Doctors Caucus to tackle Medicare Advantage (MA) overpayments, seeing this as a bipartisan opportunity as the Democratic doctors simultaneously blast Republicans for targeting Medicaid in their quest for $880 billion in health care savings in a quickly evolving GOP reconciliation bill that could include physician payment relief.

“I’m super excited about it,” Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) said Wednesday (March 26) at The Hill’s Health Next Summit, speaking about the new caucus’s launch. “We've got all these specialties, and there's a lot that we have to say, and health care is a really important topic to our constituents and to the country.”

“So, I'm excited to bring our voices together, especially on things like vaccinations, primary care, food, oversight over Medicare Advantage, for example, talking about drug pricing and PBMs and critical integration of health care,” Schrier added. “I think that we can lend a really important, strong voice. And the doctors -- Democrats and Republicans -- we join together and share a lot of these concerns.”

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks. In its first report to Congress this year, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) projected that overpayments to MA plans will hit $84 billion in 2025. Even President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead CMS, Mehmet Oz, acknowledged issues with the program during his nomination hearing, pointing to systemic upcoding as a key driver of those excessive payments and calling for action.

In a post on X last week, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) said he’s looking forward to working with Oz to “root out the immoral business practices of insurance companies who sell Medicare Advantage plans.”

“They have ruined a good program with their greed,” Murphy added.

The Democratic Congressional Doctors Caucus was officially launched earlier this month, with its six members including Schier and Reps. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Herb Conaway Jr. (D-NJ), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Kelly Morrison (D-MN). They’ll be vigilant and active in doing all they can to ensure that health care policy is patient-centered and science-based, according to Dexter.

“At a time when Republicans are attacking science, slashing health care, and putting politics over patients, Democratic physicians must be organized to fight back,” Dexter said in a statement on March 14. “We will push back against dangerous misinformation and stand up for every American’s right to have meaningful access to high-quality, affordable health care.”

House Republicans are currently working with their Senate colleagues to reconcile a budget resolution, aiming to include the $880 billion deficit reduction target for the House Energy & Commerce Committee that was in the version the House passed last month. But Democrats and advocates have been sounding the alarm, warning that hitting such a massive savings goal would likely require deep cuts to Medicaid, potentially stripping millions of Americans of their coverage. Even the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently confirmed that it would be mathematically impossible to reach that target without significant reductions to Medicaid spending.

“As Republicans in Congress slash Medicaid, condone the questioning of proven safety and efficacy of vaccinations, and endanger our public health by knee-capping key agencies and medical research, I’m proud to join my fellow Democratic Doctors in creating this Doc Caucus,” Schier said in a March 14 statement. “Together, we will stand up for patients, providers, innovation, science, and common-sense improvements that enhance health care and bring down costs.”

Meanwhile, the GOP Doctors Caucus -- led by Murphy and John Joyce (R-MD) -- has been focusing on reversing the 2.83% Medicare physician pay cut that took effect earlier this year. Lobbyists and stakeholders were deeply frustrated that the so-called “doc fix” wasn’t included in the latest continuing resolution (CR), but Murphy said weeks ago he secured a commitment from House leadership to include the fix in the upcoming reconciliation package. His Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act (H.R. 879), which now has over 100 bipartisan cosponsors, would reverse the 2.8% cut and give physicians a 2.5% payment boost to help offset rising practice costs.

Murphy said in a post on X this month that the doc fix could be paid for by tackling MA overpayments.

“Take what is needed for the permanent Doc Fix. Lower the debt with the rest,” Murphy said, accusing insurance companies who sell MA plans of “bankrupting the American citizen for profit.”

Republicans have said they hope to pass their reconciliation bill before Easter, but many lobbyists view that timeline as highly ambitious given the expected backlash over the proposed Medicaid reforms -- which Republicans insist won’t be “cuts,” but instead efforts to root out “waste, fraud, and abuse.”

At the same time, the Trump administration’s recent moves to rescind billions in HHS grant funding have only raised the stakes, prompting Democratic doctors to unite at a moment that feels more urgent than ever.

“We are seeing health care, evidence-based science, and lifesaving research come under attack more than ever before by the Trump-Vance Administration and their Republican majority in Congress. As doctors, we will always stand up for the health and well-being of all Americans,” Morrison said in the March 14 statement. “I am proud to join this group of Democratic doctors to fight every day to protect and expand access to the lifesaving care that Americans need and deserve.”