On February 17, 2012, Congress approved the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, ending debate over the extension of payroll tax reductions, unemployment insurance benefits, and numerous Medicare and Medicaid payment provisions, most of which were set to expire at the end of February. This White Paper provides an overview of the most significant Medicare and Medicaid-related provisions in the act.

The U.S. Congress on February 17, 2012, concluded a protracted debate on whether and how to extend payroll tax reductions, unemployment insurance benefits, and numerous Medicare and Medicaid payment provisions, most of which were set to expire at the end of February. The agreement ends months of rancorous partisan negotiations that began in November 2011, and which were briefly suspended by a Christmas-eve deal that extended the expiring legislation for two months to allow for further negotiation. For more information on the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, see McDermott’s On the Subject “Congress, President Extend Endangered Medicare and Medicaid Programs,” available at http://bit.l /sGYgup.

The new legislation spares physicians, hospitals and other health care providers significant Medicare and Medicaid payment cuts, but also discontinues some payment programs, trims others, and calls for a variety of reports to inform Congress whether the remaining programs should continue to be extended in the future. The legislation provides relief for most of these programs only through the end of 2012, putting Congress on course to revisit all of these issues again at the end of the year. The reports that will be issued pursuant to this legislation will help shape the next debate and may embolden Congress to trim even more programs when they next come up for renewal.

This White Paper provides an overview of the most significant Medicare-and Medicaid-related provisions in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, H.R.3630 (Tax Relief Act).

Please see full white paper below for more information.