February 12, 2020
On Feb. 5, Congress sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the planned 2021 fee schedule payment cuts to Medicare that included an estimated 8% reduction in payment for therapy. This letter was signed by 99 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and was a bipartisan request to explain the specific methodology and data CMS used to calculate the estimated impact to each specialty level associated with the coding change.
The letter indicated that constituents have concerns about whether the planned reductions in reimbursement will reduce access to health services and requested more information about the process CMS used to reach their decision. Additionally, the letter asked for a description of the factors the agency considered in deciding how much it would reduce each of the 36 professions selected for a reimbursement reduction. The letter requested CMS provide a response to Congress no later than Feb. 21.
As you know, Aegis’ call to action regarding this issue was in collaboration with National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL). In a message to members, NASL indicated “The high number of House members who supported the letter is a result of a joint organizational effort, including, but not limited to, NASL member’s advocacy efforts and our recent grassroots campaign in which we had over 3,200 letters submitted to members of Congress asking them to sign on the letter to CMS.”
Thank you to all who contributed to this campaign. We appreciate your efforts and will continue to share advocacy opportunities and outcomes as they become available.
Thank you for your advocacy and support. #FightTheCut