The House of Representatives may take up legislation this week that would prevent billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare payments to health care providers. Those cuts will take place next year unless Congress votes to stop them.
Medicare fee-for-service payments to doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers could be reduced by as much as $14.1 billion.
The cuts are looming because of mandatory reductions in spending passed by Congress several years ago as part of the Budget Control Act. The actions were meant to try and limit federal spending. However, Congress has voted in a bipartisan fashion to stop the cuts every year since the act went into effect.
The effect on Medicare users if the cuts take place is not clear, but it is not likely to be good. It is possible that some providers who now see Medicare patients may decline to continue to do so.
