Press Release, September 23, 2021
Today, the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the largest collaborative of not-for-profit hospices in the United States, sent Congressional leaders a letter recommending extension of the moratorium on the 2% reduction in Medicare sequestration payments through the end of 2022.
“The ongoing public health crisis has placed immense burdens on too many community-based, non-profit providers in the Medicare program,” said NPHI President Carole Fisher. “Extending the moratorium will allow our members to avoid interruptions in their delivery of high-quality, person-centered care to communities devastated by COVID-19.”
In 2013, the Budget Control Act effected a 2% reduction in payments to Medicare providers. This sequestration was suspended in 2020 with the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and. Economic Security (CARES) Act, citing the unprecedented pressures placed on providers by the pandemic. Earlier this year, H.R 1868 extended the moratorium through the end of December.
NPHI applauds Congressional leaders for supporting community-based, not-for-profit providers thus far. Nevertheless, given the emergence of COVID-19 variants, the Partnership urges the extension of the moratorium to ensure the financial viability of Medicare providers delivering vital health care services to patients across the country.
“In many parts of the country, especially rural and underserved areas, one provider may be the difference between life and death,” said NPHI Senior Advisor Ray Quintero. “Let’s make sure they have every tool they need to continue their work.”
Read the letter here.
Media Contact:
Allan Malievsky
Communications Director
AMalievsky@hospiceinnovations.org
+1 (917) 974-1371
About the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI): Serving over 120,000 patients daily and employing thousands of medical professionals, NPHI is driven by passion and integrity to help people live fully through the end‐of‐life. Our commitment is to ensure patients and their families experience advanced illness and end‐of‐life care consistent with their goals, values, and preferences. Our not‐for‐profit member programs across 32 states and the District of Columbia seek to accomplish this by facilitating innovative design of more effective and comprehensive models of care, advocating for comprehensive community‐integrated care that is customized to meet each individual patient’s needs, and enabling collaboration between national thought leaders, decisionmakers, and health care stakeholders to strengthen hospice care. www.NPHI.info