Senate finance committee leaders oppose 2.4% cuts

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Republican Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opposing the 2.4 percent "behavioral offset" cuts in the Proposed Rule.

The senators expressed concern about the impact that the cuts will have on rural hospitals. Both stated that any planned cuts should be based on actual experience, not speculation.

"The financial stability of rural hospitals should not be gambled on guesses about how this new system will operate," Baucus said. "We need to wait and see exactly how hospitals will react to the new system before we make any payment adjustments. We can't get ahead of ourselves and put our hospitals – especially our vital rural hospitals – in jeopardy." 

"CMS should take action to ensure that Medicare payments are accurate," Grassley said. "However, given what's at stake for many hospitals, this action should be based on reality, not speculation."

The complete letter can be accessed here.