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House Passes Bill to Stop PAYGO Cuts in 2022 and Extend the Sequestration Freeze; Bill Moves on to the Senate

Published in Government Relations on December 08, 2021

Last night on December 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed S.610 - Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act, delaying implementation of an additional 4% reduction in reimbursement for Medicare providers and suppliers.

The passage of this bill will also extend the current freeze on the long-standing 2% reduction in Medicare sequestration cuts. Congress had deferred the cuts during the COVID-19 public health emergency, but the deferral is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. S.610 would extend the 2% freeze until March 31, 2022, and then reduce the freeze to 1% from April 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022.

The PAYGO sequester was established through the statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010. The PAYGO rule requires new legislation not to raise the federal budget deficit. When it does, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has to implement cuts to some federal spending, including Medicare.

S.610 heads to the Senate, which is expected to be considered by the end of the week.

Reach out to your Senators today and ask for closure and passage of S.610 by clicking here. 

VGM will keep you updated as this bill progresses. Stay tuned!

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