AHA Statement on House Medicare Sequester Relief Legislation

Rick Pollack
President and CEO
American Hospital Association

December 7, 2021

The AHA is pleased that the House has recognized that now is not the time to make cuts to hospitals and physicians under the Medicare program. By eliminating a 2% Medicare reduction until April 2022 and stopping the 4% Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Medicare cuts from taking effect in early 2022, providers on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 will not face additional imminent financial jeopardy as they continue to care for patients and communities. The bill also reduces the 2% Medicare sequester to 1% from April through June. We will continue to work with Congress to ensure that providers and the patients they care for are not under continued duress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when that cut is scheduled to take effect. We also appreciate the lowering of reductions to payments to physicians, delay of the harmful cuts to clinical laboratories, and a delay in the implementation of the Radiation Oncology model that are included in the bill. 

We urge bipartisan support in the House and Senate to pass this important piece of legislation. Doing so will remove the uncertainty these cuts are creating and stop this potential threat to the patients and communities we serve each day.

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Contact:        Colin Milligan, (202) 638-5491, cmilligan@aha.org
                      Marie Johnson, (202) 626-2351, mjohnson@aha.org