On April 14, President Biden signed legislation extending the suspension of Medicare sequestration cuts through the end of 2021. Sequestration mandates a 2% reduction to payment, which your Academy has advocated against, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The previous suspension of sequestration expired on April 1 and, as AAPM&R previously announced, Medicare instructed its contractors to hold all claims provided on or after the expiration date in anticipation of a bill that would extend the suspension.
Medicare has since instructed contractors to release
any previously held claims with dates of service on or after April 1 and reprocess any claims that included the 2% reduction. Though there may be some delay due to volume, members can expect that delayed claims will be paid by Medicare in the
coming weeks.