In a Nov. 29 letter, eight organizations representing hospitals and health systems across the U.S. urged Congress to prevent more than $14 billion in Medicare payment cuts.
The organizations, which include the American Hospital Association and America's Essential Hospitals, said the Medicare payment cuts would not be sustainable for providers and would put patient care at risk.
Specifically, the organizations are asking Congress to extend the moratorium on Medicare sequester cuts, which is slated to expire Dec. 31. Without a delay in the federally mandated Medicare payment cut, the organizations said hospitals and health systems would see a reduction of $4.7 billion in fee-for-service Medicare payments in 2022.
Additionally, the organizations are calling for Congress to change the impending deadline for the statutory pay-as-you-go sequester, which requires that mandatory spending and revenue legislation not increase the federal budget deficit over a five- or 10-year period. Without waiving the pay-as-you-go sequester, providers would experience $9.4 billion in cuts to their fee-for-service payments in 2022, according to the letter.