Just hours before a federal shutdown was set to take effect on Dec. 20, Congress passed and President Biden signed into law legislation (HR 10545) to keep the government operating at fiscal year 2024 levels through March 14. The new law also temporarily extends several healthcare programs that were set to expire, such as telehealth flexibilities; the Geographic Practice Cost Index Floor, which adjusts payments meant to reflect regional differences in the cost of doing business; as well as funding for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps and teaching health centers with graduate medical programs.
The enacted bill was significantly narrower than the version negotiated earlier and ultimately abandoned. That original proposal would have averted most of the 2.8 percent Medicare physician payment cut that began Jan. 1. Although lawmakers pledged to retroactively address the Medicare payment cuts, AAOMS has launched a grassroots campaign urging Congress to act swiftly to prevent further financial strain on Medicare providers.
Join AAOMS’s efforts to advocate for a resolution to these cuts.
