The Senate has passed its roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package, which includes restarting Medicare payment cuts as a funding source.
The package, which includes new funding for roads, broadband and other infrastructure, passed the Senate in a 69 to 30 vote. It now heads to the House, which is expected to approve it.
One of the funding sources for the bill will be continuing and extending an automatic 2 percent annual Medicare payment cut. The 2 percent payment cuts currently are slated to run from fiscal year 2022 to 2030. The bill would restart the payment cuts next year and extend the payment cut so they run until fiscal 2031.
The payment cuts, under the initial sequestration plan, were slated to run from fiscal 2013 to 2021 but have been delayed or extended several times.