Funding bill skips measure to avert physician pay cuts

It would not surprise me if the Republican controlled Senate found a way to get doctors and increase in Medicare payments. But then again, one way to kill Medicare is not to fund doctor Medicare payments to avoid the cuts. Medicare and Social Security reductions? Angry Bear, Dan Crawford.

“Funding bill skips measure to avert physician pay cuts, a blow to GOP Doctors Caucus,” POLITICO

The funding bill House Republican leaders released on Saturday does not avert cuts for doctors who treat Medicare patients — a blow to Republicans who had pushed for the changes that also could risk alienating members whose support will be needed to pass the legislation.

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), who co-chairs the GOP Doctors’ Caucus, said in recent months that Republican leadership was open to including the policy in the bill to keep the government funded through September, and that Trump administration officials had assured it would be addressed. Five health industry lobbyists, granted anonymity to share details of private negotiations, were also anticipating it would be a part of the funding measure to avoid a shutdown after March 14.

Murphy said in an interview its inclusion would be a “line in the sand” necessary for his support. A Murphy spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the lawmaker was still adhering to that position.

Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose two votes on his side of the aisle if all Democrats band together and oppose the government funding bill, a position the minority party could ultimately take.

Two lobbyists aware of the closed-door negotiations said the patch for doctors was ultimately not included amid broader concerns among Republican leadership that adding more than standard extensions of programs would open the door to more demands for other policies to be attached.

But the legislation released Saturday, which would hold most current spending levels through the end of the fiscal year, is far from “clean“: It would boost spending for illegal immigrant deportations while cutting money for a variety of non-defense programs. In some cases, Republican leaders are seeking to completely zero out funding for a slew of priorities. Many of which had previously been subject to earmarks personally requested by lawmakers. It’s not clear how leadership will justify the exclusion of one policy provision when other priorities are getting addressed.

The doctors’ pay fix would have prevented further cuts from going into effect that would slash deeply into salaries for doctors providing Medicare services based on an outdated formula. It was part of a larger health care overhaul package set to pass as part of a year-end government funding bill in December. Then-President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk complained that bill was overly broad, and the package got scrapped.

A funding bill released over the weekend by Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives will allow to go forward a 2.8% cut in payments physicians receive from the Medicare health insurance program to treat elderly patients. “Doctors Outraged Republican Congress To Allow Medicare Pay Cut“

Members of both parties warn the stakes are high for not addressing this issue quickly: Decades of payment reductions in Medicare have put physician practices in difficult financial straits, doctors’ groups say — meaning they could be forced to close their practices and reduce access to care.

But while though there is no relief for doctors, the stopgap funding bill would — as expected — include an extension of eased telehealth rules until September, avoiding a potential disruption in access to care if adopted.

Those relaxed telehealth rules were first introduced by the Center for Medicaid Services during the Covid-19 pandemic when physical doctor offices were closed. Congress has extended those telehealth rules several times, but a permanent solution has remained elusive.

The stopgap bill would also extend hospital-at-home waivers that enable facilities to offer more care at home. It would extend funding for community health centers, alongside a delay in funding cuts to safety-net hospitals.

The Affordable Care Act called for such cuts, expecting such hospitals wouldn’t have to offer less care without getting paid as millions more got covered through the law, but Congress has never let them go into effect.

“The Cutting Continues,” KFF Health News