Flag flies next to upper part of Capitol Building

Home care providers Wednesday urged the Senate to pass an extension of the moratorium on 2% cuts. That came after Senate leaders reportedly reached an agreement on Tuesday to extend through 2021 an extension of the moratorium, which is set to expire next Wednesday.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, LeadingAge stressed the urgency of the extension, stating that cuts now scheduled for April 1 would affect care delivered by home health agencies, hospices, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organizations and other healthcare services for older adults. 

“Many care providers are still struggling to catch up from the crippling cost of COVID,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “Cutting support for older Americans in the middle of a pandemic makes no sense. The Senate needs to head off these billions of dollars in Medicare sequestration cuts.”  

Sloan praised the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 1868, which would prevent Medicare rate cuts of up to 6% by extending the sequester suspension and exempting the American Rescue Plan from PAYGO rules.