Health Provisions in End-of-Year Legislative Package
On Tuesday, December 17, Congressional leadership released a legislative package to fund the federal government through March 2025 and it includes several health care provisions the AAFP has been long advocating for. These provisions include:
A 2.5% increase to the Medicare physician fee schedule conversion factor for one year, which stops short of offsetting the full 2.8% payment cut set to go into effect on January 1, 2025;
Extension of the advanced alternative payment model incentive payment at 3.53% for one year;
Extension of the physician work Geographic Practice Cost Index floor of 1.0 for one year;
5-year reauthorization of the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program with funding phasing up to $300 million by 2029;
2-year reauthorization of the National Health Service Corps;
2-year reauthorization of community health center funding, phasing up to $4.6 billion by 2026;
2-year extension of current Medicare telehealth flexibilities through 2026;
5-year reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act, legislation that authorizes critical programs for opioid use disorder prevention, recovery, and treatment. Also contained in the SUPPORT Act is a legislative fix to the 2022-passed MATE Act which recognizes the AAFP’s credit system as an entity that accredits continuing medical education; and
2-year reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which would authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to take necessary steps to prepare for and respond to future public health emergencies.
The AAFP has advocated for Congress to act on these items over the past two years and has issued a statement encouraging Congress to pass this legislation. The goal is to pass this legislation before the December 20 funding deadline. Congressional leadership has asked groups to urge Members of Congress to vote YES on this bill. We have activated a SpeakOut and request that this be shared with your members as soon as possible.
If you have any questions about the provisions contained in the package, please contact David Tully, vice president of Government Relations at dtully@aafp.org.
