Hundreds of Lawmakers Speak Out Against Devastating Medicare Cuts

As we continue our efforts to stop the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) from making devastating payment cuts to more than 30 specialty providers in 2021, including a dangerous 9% cut to physical and occupational therapy services, hundreds of lawmakers have joined us in the fight.

This week, 229 Members of Congress, led by Reps. Ami Bera (D-CA) and Larry Bucshon (R-IN.), sent a bipartisan letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) illustrating the damage these payments cuts will do and how they fail to account for the financial disaster created by COVID-19.

This letter follows a series of advocacy efforts over the past few months. In September, a bipartisan coalition of more than 160 lawmakers sent a letter to CMS and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging the agencies to engage with stakeholders to establish fair and equitable payment solutions while moving forward with policies to increase payments to primary care and other office-based specialties. And earlier this month, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) also penned a letter to Speaker Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) addressing the cuts. Recently, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Reps Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), took their efforts a step further by introducing H.R. 8505, which would authorize CMS to delay the cuts for one year.

These activities on Capitol Hill are the culmination of months of advocacy—and it wouldn’t have been possible without the overwhelming efforts by specialty providers, including physical and occupational therapists. But, to ensure the cuts don’t go into effect and patients can maintain access to specialty care, Congressional leadership must take action.

Your lawmakers need to hear from you about how devastating these cuts will be for providers and patients. Email your lawmakers now and ask them to oppose Medicare cuts to specialty providers!