FAH, in coordination with a diverse group of 50 health care organizations, sent a letter today to Congressional leaders urging lawmakers to extend the moratorium on Medicare sequester cuts until the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE).

The letter, which was signed by 50 groups, explains the need for the full extension of the 2% Medicare sequester moratorium, saying,

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress has ensured that frontline health care providers have the resources necessary to keep our doors open to care for both COVID and non-COVID patients alike. While we are encouraged that the worst days of the Omicron variant are hopefully behind us, it is also abundantly clear that daily COVID infection rates, hospitalizations, and deaths remain exceedingly high.”

Enacted in December 2021, The Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act authorized a three-month delay of 2% Medicare sequester payment reductions (January 1, 2022 – March 31, 2022), followed by a three-month, 1% reduction in Medicare sequester payment reductions (April 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022). The groups are urging Congress to extend the current 2% Medicare sequester moratorium for the entire duration of the COVID-19 PHE.

“The resumption of the Medicare sequester before the end of the PHE would unnecessarily hinder our caregiving abilities, especially when the emergence of a new, potentially more dangerous and/or contagious variant continues to loom,” the groups wrote.

You can find the complete letter, including a list of the signatories, here.