Congress Passes Legislation to Forestall Cuts to Medicare Reimbursements!

December 17, 2021

Last week, Congress passed legislation to forestall Medicare physician payment cuts. Had Washington lawmakers not acted, physicians would be facing potential cuts of nearly 10% in Medicare reimbursements come Jan. 1, 2022.

ISMS would like to thank members who contacted their congressional representative, urging them to take swift action. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.

Highlightsof the legislation’s provisions include:

• A delay in resuming the 2% Medicare sequester for three months (Jan. 1–March 31, 2022), followed by a reduction to 1% for three months (April 1–June 30, 2022).
• A one-year increase in the Medicare physician payment schedule of 3%, which is 0.75% less than the conversion factor boost provided for 2021.
• A one-year delay in the cuts to the clinical laboratory payment schedule.
• A one-year delay in the Medicare radiation oncology demonstration.
• Prevents the 4% Medicare pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) cut for 2022.

As we all know, slashing Medicare reimbursements would likely lead to fewer primary care professionals, limited access to specialists, a disruption in care and additional barriers to life-saving treatment.

If you have questions, please contact the ISMS Health Policy Research and Advocacy team by email.