Last week, President Biden signed a bill, passed by Congress, providing short-term physician payment relief. The bill delays 6% of nearly 10% proposed Medicare cuts, including delaying and suspending three policies causing Medicare cuts. Specifically, the bill provides for:
- 4% PAYGO Sequester triggered by deficit spending: delayed by 1 year
- 2% Medicare Sequester from the 2011 Budget Control Act: suspended through the end of March, and reduced to 1% from April through the end of June
- 75% Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Conversion Factor, set to expire on December 31st, temporarily updated: replaced by 3.00% update for 2022
This action is helpful to avert the worst of the cuts, but there’s more work to do to avoid reductions in Medicare during the pandemic.
