Super Committee Announces Failure to Reach Agreement
Late Monday afternoon, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction announced that it was unable to come to an agreement prior to the November 23 statutory deadline for deficit reduction. Monday marked the deadline to have a proposal scored by Congressional Budget Office and available to the public under “sunlight provisions” allowing the public to read spending bills prior to congressional action. NRHA fought hard to maintain the Critical Access Hospital, Medicare Dependant Hospital, and Sole Community Hospital designations from elimination or large-scale modification. Various proposals called for large modifications to these programs or even the elimination of the designations entirely. With the announcement Monday, we now can be sure that all facilities currently participating in these programs will maintain their reimbursement structures. NRHA members were instrumental in fighting these modifications and their efforts have clearly been successful. The failure to strike a deal, though, means that a “sequestration” will go into effect January 2013. Included in the sequestration is a two percent cut to Medicare for all providers. During the next year, NRHA will continue its efforts to reverse the across-the-board cuts to rural facilities. These cuts will have a disproportionate affect on fragile safety net facilities and should not be allowed. Federal Medicaid payments will not be affected in the sequestration. Click here to find the Super Committee statement. Continue to monitor this blog for information relating to the ongoing deficit reduction negotiations and the FY 2012 appropriations process. Please contact NRHA government affairs at (202) 639-0550 with any questions.