House votes to strike Medicare cuts from trade legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 397-32 today to strike the use of additional Medicare sequestration cuts in 2024 to pay for the cost of extending the Trade Assistance Adjustment program. The provision, contained in the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, would replace the Medicare sequester extension approved last month by the Senate – estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to represent $700 million in reductions – with savings by strengthening federal tax compliance laws. The bill still must pass the Senate, which, despite objections from the AHA and other health care organizations, last month approved trade legislation (H.R.1314 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1314) containing the Medicare cuts. Those groups today thanked House members for voting to replace the cuts, noting that, if the provision is passed by the Senate, they will withdraw their previous opposition to the trade package and will not view a vote for the overall package as a vote for Medicare cuts.