President Joe Biden signed a new spending bill on Dec. 21 to prevent a government shutdown.
Here are six things to know:
1. The Senate approved the spending bill on the early morning of Dec. 21 in an 85-11 vote after the House approved the bill in a 366-34 vote on Dec. 20.
2. On the healthcare front, the new spending bill extends funding for diabetes programs, telehealth services and community health centers. It also supports family health and educational programs.
3. The bill continues to increase payments for low-volume hospitals and Medicare-dependent hospitals, and extends add-on payments for telehealth flexibilities and ambulance services, including specific oral antiviral drugs under Medicare Part D. Acute hospital-care-at-home temporary waivers is also continued, including extended funding for outreach and assistance programs for low-income individuals.
Scheduled payment cuts for disproportionate share hospitals that serve a high number of uninsured and Medicaid patients will be eliminated. Family-to-family health information centers and educational programs specifically focused on sexual risk avoidance and personal responsibility would receive extended funding.
4. The bill fails to address declining reimbursement rates, making it the fifth year of consecutive cuts, Bruce Scott, MD, president of the American Medical Association, said in a Dec. 21 news release. While cost of care delivery is set to increase 3.5%, physicians face a 2.83% reduction in the next year. Medicare payments have also dropped 33% over the last two decades, leaving physicians struggling to maintain care for older people and chronically ill patients. Dr. Scott said the bill misses a "golden opportunity" to improve patient care by not including prior authorization reform.
"Physicians are frustrated and patients are angry," he said. "Obviously, the Medicare payment system is broken. With another cut almost certain to take effect, Congress must enact meaningful long-term reforms."
5. On Dec. 19, Republican lawmakers failed to pass a pared-down government funding bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump after dropping a broader package he opposed. The pared-down bill omitted key healthcare provisions from a Dec. 18 bipartisan resolution, including long-term extensions for Medicare telehealth and hospital-at-home programs, measures to mitigate physician pay cuts, $8 billion in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts and new regulations that would have targeted pharmacy benefit managers. One major addition to that bill was Mr. Trump's request to suspend the debt limit through 2027.
6. HHS prepared a contingency plan in the event of a government shutdown. A shutdown would have left HHS with about half of its staff, with 45% furloughed on the second day of closure. CMS functions, such as survey and certification activities, community outreach and education initiatives, would have been suspended.