Dear Senators Boozman, Collins, Cramer, Cotton and Hyde-Smith:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, thank you for your leadership in introducing S.
5007, the Holding Providers Harmless From Medicare Cuts During COVD-19 Act of 2020, a bill
to halt pending Medicare payment cuts resulting from the finalized evaluation and management
(E/M) code changes slated for implementation on January 1, 2021.
This critical legislation recognizes the importance of allowing significant scheduled pay
increases to primary care and others who primarily provide E/M services to take effect while also
avoiding the devastating corresponding cuts for physician and non-physician providers that will
occur because of Medicare’s budget neutrality requirements. While the COVID-19 pandemic
rages and wreaks havoc on the health care system, providers continue to contend with
overflowing hospitals and the financial impact of the spring-summer government-recommended
shutdown of most non-urgent medical care. Against this backdrop, double-digit Medicare cuts
will be devastating for patients, communities and providers. Our organizations support S. 5007
and its approach for providing two years of much-needed payment stability for Medicare
providers as they continue to strive to meet the needs of patients during this public health
emergency.
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