Congress should not extend Medicare sequestration to help pay for the bipartisan infrastructure framework because health care providers cannot sustain additional Medicare cuts and Medicare funds should not be used to pay for non-health care programs, the AHA, American Medical Association, American Health Care Association, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and Association for Clinical Oncology told Senate leaders in a letter today. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has persisted in parts of the country, infecting more than 33 million people and resulting in more than 607,000 deaths,” the organizations wrote. “America’s health care providers continue to face historic challenges. Physicians, nurses, hospitals and health systems, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and hospices have incurred significant expenses to test, vaccinate and treat the sick. Extending sequestration imposes a destabilizing element to health care access in the face of years of experience with cost increases that are not adequately accounted for in Medicare payments.”
 

Related News Articles

Headline
The Senate Appropriations Committee July 31 advanced the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,…
Chairperson's File
Public
The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act will bring big changes to health care. AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack joined me for a Leadership Dialogue…
Headline
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee yesterday voted 12-11 along party lines to recommend the confirmation of Brian Christine, M.D., to…
Headline
The House Ways and Means Subcommittees on Health and Oversight held a joint hearing today to discuss lessons learned, challenges and opportunities to improve…
Headline
The AHA today expressed support for the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act, a bill that would eliminate the 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient…
Chairperson's File
Public
This month Congress enacted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a sweeping package that contained many of President Trump’s legislative priorities on taxes,…