Health Care providers have been advocating for Congress to avert a series of impending Medicare reimbursement cuts slated to take effect in January of 2022 – an issue that has garnered bipartisan support. Congressional leadership has been debating the pathway forward to address the cuts, and, though the situation remains fluid as of this writing, legislation to prevent many of these cuts was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon.
Specifically, the Protecting Medicare & American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act would:
- Extend the 2% Medicare sequester moratorium until March 31, 2022, re-implementing 1% cuts in the second quarter of 2022, and reinstating the 2% cut subsequently, funded by backend increased sequester cuts in fiscal year 2030;
- Adjust the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor by 3.00% in calendar year 2022;
- Delay Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA)-related cuts to clinical laboratory services and the next round of private payer data reporting by one year;
- Delay implementation of the Medicare Radiation Oncology Model until 2023; and
- Delay application of 4% cuts to Medicare and other federal programs resulting from statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act requirements until calendar year 2023.
The bill also addresses increasing the federal debt limit, thus tying the aversion of Medicare cuts to another pressing yet politically sensitive issue that Congressional leaders have been working to address this month. Votes on the measure are anticipated in the House and Senate this week, though timing remains uncertain.
