I’m a Louisiana senior who has paid into Medicare my entire working life – decades of hard-earned wages to ensure care in my later years. Now, as a Medicare patient, I rely on my doctor for checkups and managing health challenges. But a 2.83 percent cut to physician payments that took effect on January 1 threatens that care.

These cuts are just the latest in a long list of troubling statistics facing Medicare patients like me. The American Medical Association reports that practice costs have soared over 50 percent since 2001, yet Medicare payments to physicians, adjusted for inflation, have dropped 33 percent. While hospitals have seen hefty increases – nearly 80 percent – physician payments have inched up only 10 percent. Doctors lack an automatic inflation adjustment, a flaw that hits hard after years of rising expenses.

Physicians feel it, and so do we. Some may limit Medicare patients or shutter their doors – options no senior should face. Surveys show one in five doctors might leave their practices soon, worn thin by financial pressures. For me and countless others from New Orleans to Shreveport, losing a doctor means scrambling for care, often far from home. That’s not the Medicare I paid for.

I’ve earned fair treatment, as have all seniors. We need physicians to be reimbursed properly so they can keep serving us. Congress has dodged this issue too long, offering temporary fixes or nothing at all. That must change.

My friends and I are encouraging Speaker Mike Johnson to support H.R. 879, the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act, to reverse the recent cut starting April 1 and add a 2 percent payment boost to steady practices. Push it into the next spending bill. Then, lead on a permanent fix: Tie payments to inflation so doctors aren’t squeezed while costs climb.

I’ve trusted Medicare to honor my contributions. Now, I’m counting on our very own Speaker Johnson to ensure it does – by keeping physicians paid fairly and accessible. Seniors across Louisiana deserve that security.

Anne Price, of Bossier Parish, is a Republican Party of Louisiana Deputy Chair