Senate leaders introduced the spending package early Tuesday, and the Senate approved it Thursday. The House passed it Friday and President Biden is expected to sign it.
The measure averts some Medicare reductions, although healthcare groups hoped for more relief. There are also provisions that address some key priorities, including telehealth service.
Medicare
The package avoids some steep Medicare cuts but provides only part of the relief doctors and medical groups were seeking.
Doctors and medical groups pressed Congress to avert a 4.5% reduction in Medicare payment rates for doctors, but that effort was only half successful. The omnibus package calls for a 2% cut in physician payment rates.
While not as bad as initially feared, doctors and medical groups criticized Congress for allowing any cut to happen.
A much more successful spending reduction was blocked preventing a scheduled 4% cut in Medicare under the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) sequester. Health groups said the cut would have been devastating and had urged lawmakers to block it. Under the package, the PAYGO cut is blocked in 2023 and 2024.
Telehealth
Health groups scored one of their biggest wins on telehealth.
Telehealth waivers would be continued through 2024 under the spending package. The telehealth waivers previously were largely tied to the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, which is no longer the case.
The package also includes a two-year delay in implementing the Medicare telemental health in-person requirement, and a two-year extension to offer telehealth in High Deductible Health Plans, the American Telemedicine Association said in a news release.
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