The House of Representatives, on March 11, passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 (H.R. 1968), which is now under consideration by the Senate with government funding set to expire after March 14. The continuing resolution (CR) passed the House largely along party lines and would extend government funding for all 12 spending bills — including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill — through Sept. 30 and includes extensions of several expiring health care provisions. The bill includes a limited number of health care and public health provisions of interest to academic medicine, including a short-term extension of key Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, as well as a delay in scheduled cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program until Sept. 30. The bill would also extend key health care workforce programs, including the National Health Service Corps and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program.
However, the CR did not address the 2.83% Medicare Physician Fee Schedule cut that went into effect on Jan. 1. The AAMC joined nearly 120 health care organizations in a March 10 statement urging lawmakers to address the cuts [refer to related story].
The AAMC sent a March 7 letter to congressional leadership urging lawmakers to extend expiring health care provisions and finalize a fiscal year 2025 appropriations package [refer to Washington Highlights, March 7]