Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Path Cleared For Medicare's Provider Pay Boost To Be Extended
Senate leaders have reached an agreement to extend a Medicare pay bump for health care providers through 2021, a major lobbying win for hospitals. Senate leaders cut a deal on Tuesday, just days ahead of the March 31 deadline when the 2% pay boost is set to expire, according to bill text obtained by STAT. Congress last year gave providers the boost to help their bottom lines during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Cohrs, 3/23)
Hospital and provider groups feel optimistic the Senate will vote this week to avert a 2% cut to Medicare payments just days before they're scheduled to take effect, but political squabbling behind the scenes means action is still far from certain. Without congressional action, Medicare sequester cuts will resume April 1 after being paused for most of the pandemic. The cuts originally took effect in 2013 but were paused by Congress last year in response to the pandemic and its effect on providers' finances. (Hellmann, 3/23)
In legislative news from Maryland —
Complaints have been filed with the Maryland Board of Physicians and the General Assembly’s ethics committee against a state lawmaker who twice joined legislative meetings by video from the operating room. Del. Terri Hill, a board-certified plastic surgeon, has acknowledged she twice logged in from the OR, once in February to testify on a bill and once for about an hour this month during a voting session. (Wood, 3/23)
