CHIROCONGRESS ADVOCACY ALERT ENCOURAGE YOUR MEMBERS TO CONTACT THEIR U.S. SENATORS TODAY! Medicare Cuts Coming April 1st Without Action From U.S. Senate! 2% Sequester Moratorium Ends March 31st. CONTACT YOUR SENATORS ABOUT H.R. 1868 TODAY! On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This important legislation postponed the Medicare sequester moratorium for three months, until March 31, 2021. Without congressional action, these cuts will take place, beginning April 1st. The passage of the recent $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will cause an additional 4% sequestration cut in 2022, to satisfy federal law requiring across-the-board cuts to programs (including Medicare), if legislation affecting mandatory spending or revenues increases net deficits. On March 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1868, legislation that would postpone the 2% Medicare sequestration cuts through 2021, as well as protect Medicare from the 4% PAYGO sequestration cuts associated with the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration. As patients and health care providers across the nation continue to struggle financially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, now is not the time to implement even further cuts. Postponing these cuts will ensure that access to chiropractic services remains available to the nation’s more than 63 million Medicare beneficiaries, while allowing chiropractic practices to remain financially viable as we move forward through the pandemic. Background H.R. 1868 contains two critical sections: Section 1: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act requires across-the-board cuts (sequestration) to certain programs, including Medicare, if certain legislation affecting mandatory spending or revenues increases net deficits. Legislation that Congress designates as an emergency or otherwise excludes from the PAYGO scorecard does not trigger sequestration. Restrictions on the content of reconciliation bills prevented the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 from including a provision to avert sequestration. H.R. 1868 will protect Medicare and other programs from PAYGO sequestration. If not passed, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule would see an additional 4% cut – the maximum sequestration cut allowed – beginning in 2022. Section 2: The bill also extends a separate Medicare sequester relief provision, first enacted in the CARES Act, that expires March 31. It would postpone cuts through the end of 2021. Contact your Association Members! Ask them to email their U.S. Senators today and ask their U.S. Senators to support H.R. 1868, legislation that would postpone the 2% cut scheduled for April 1st and stop the cuts associated with the American Rescue Plan. Every email received on Capitol Hill lets lawmakers know how important this issue is and how they can help Medicare patients who choose to see a chiropractor for their health care needs. |
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