The House Ways and Means Committee reached a bipartisan agreement Wednesday to authorize funding for several ongoing Medicare initiatives that expired in September or were set to run out at the end of the year.
The agreement serves as preliminary approval for two- or five-year extensions of several "extender" programs last authorized under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act in 2015. "This agreement extends, or makes permanent with reforms, numerous expiring Medicare payment policies that will help provide continuity and certainty for both the patients who rely on them and the providers who serve America's seniors," said Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas.
The agreement extends several Medicare programs, including the Medicare Dependent Hospital Program, the Low-Volume Adjustment Program, the Home Health rural add-on, Ground Ambulance Add-Ons and the State Health Insurance Assistance Programs, among others.
The Senate is also working on a Medicare extender bill. Mr. Brady said in a press release he hopes Congress will take action on the extenders before the end of the year.
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