Long-term care providers are closer to avoiding Medicare cuts that would reduce reimbursements by nearly 10% after a Senate vote Thursday evening.
The lawmakers voted 59-34 for a bill that extends a moratorium on a 2% sequester cut through the end of March and delays a 4% budget-balancing cut known as PAYGO until 2023. The measure also would provide a one-year, 3% increase in the Medicare physician fee schedule.
The legislation now awaits signature from President Joe Biden for final approval.
Industry stakeholders earlier this week hailed the policy and urged Senators to follow-suit with its House counterparts who passed the legislation Tuesday.
“The Medicare changes are a very good deal for long-term care providers and their residents,” Cynthia Morton, executive vice president of the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care, said at the time.
She added providers felt like lawmakers “really heard us that the pandemic is not the time for the cascade of cuts that would only serve to decrease access to services for Medicare beneficiaries.”
The American Health Care Association also approved of the legislation but added that the organization is looking “forward to working with policymakers to advance permanent solutions in the coming year” once this measure is enacted.
