Provision Senator Collins Championed to Prevent Medicare Physician Payment Cuts Signed into Law

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that the year-end government funding bill that was signed into law includes a provision based on bipartisan legislation she co-authored to prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) planned physician payment cuts scheduled to begin January 1, 2021. 

“These reimbursement cuts would have fallen primarily on the backs of health care providers across non-primary care specialties – from radiology to physical therapy to orthopaedic surgery – and could have had a devastating effect on health care practices and, most important, patient access to care,” said Senator Collins.  “I am pleased that this provision included in the government funding bill will halt these ill-timed payment cuts from going into effect at the start of the New Year, helping to ensure that we do not further burden our health care system that is already struggling due to the pandemic.”

Senator Collins has long been a champion of improving access to health care, particularly in rural and underserved areas.  In addition to sponsoring legislation to avert destabilizing cuts to medical providers that would have harmed patients’ access to health care, Senator Collins sent a letter to Senate leaders in October, urging them to advance legislation to prevent these sharp reductions in payment.

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