Because of CAP advocacy and support from the American Medical Association (AMA) and other medical professional groups, Congress finalized the bipartisan legislation that extended the moratorium on a 2% cut to physician Medicare payments until the end of 2021. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will now release all claims held since the start of April. Following congressional action, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on April 15.

On April 13, the House voted on the legislation to delay the 2% cut from April 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021. The legislation previously passed the Senate by a strong bipartisan margin. The CAP had asked its members to contact their elected officials to support the legislation. About 425 pathologists sent 1,408 messages to 319 members of Congress in support of this legislation through the CAP Action Center. And because of our members’ actions and CAP advocacy, Congress pushed the moratorium until the end of 2021. The moratorium on Medicare sequestration was originally slated to expire on April 1, 2021 per previous legislation.

In a March 15 letter, the CAP strongly called for bipartisan action to stop the Medicare budget sequester cuts and provide critical relief for pathologists who have been on the front lines to fight the pandemic. Additionally, the AMA, the CAP, and 127 medical and state organizations lobbied Congress to relieve the financial burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic on physicians during the current national emergency. In a February 12 letter to congressional leaders in the House and the Senate, the CAP joined the groups to support legislation that would suspend a 2% across-the-board cut.

The CMS held off on processing Medicare claims in April while Congress debated the legislation to avoid making reduced payments to providers. The CMS directed Medicare contractors to release any claims held in April because of the policy.

Congress originally paused the 2% Medicare sequester cuts as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020 as providers started to struggle with the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sequestration is the automatic reduction of specific federal spending that was part of the Budget Control Act of 2011. Congress has often used extending the sequestration as a payfor for other pieces of legislation over the last ten years. Currently, the sequestration is expected to last until 2031.