After about six hours of voting, the Senate passed an amended fiscal year 2025 budget resolution in a 51-48 vote on April 5, advancing efforts to potentially initiate the reconciliation process — and keeping proposed Medicaid cuts in focus.
The resolution now heads back to the House for further consideration. If the House approves the proposal, it will open up the next step in the reconciliation process and allow committees in both the House and the Senate to begin taking on more Republican priorities, including raising the debt sealing and making cuts federal healthcare programs .
ASC leaders have voiced concern that these potential cuts could limit access to care and prompt service reductions or facility closures.
“Medicaid is already one of many insurances that have low reimbursement rates for ASCs, that barely cover the cost of the surgery depending on the coding,” Heather Cobb, RN. Administrator of Momentum Specialty Surgery in Wichita Falls, Texas, told Becker’s. “Medicaid only reimburses one CPT code for surgery, making it harder for ASCs to accept Medicaid patients unless we can work together with our vendors and the physicians to keep our case cost at a minimum to improve the margins of Medicaid cases. If Medicaid continues down the path of lowering reimbursement rates, then it will prove difficult for ASCs to provide affordable care to their community, possibly shifting those cases to a hospital where the reimbursement could be much higher.”
Physicians have also expressed unease about the consequences of reduced Medicaid funding.
“I am very concerned about big healthcare budget cuts for patients and physicians,” Sheldon Taub, MD, gastroenterologist at Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center, told Becker’s. This may require states to tighten eligibility requirements, making it more difficult for Medicaid and Medicare patients to receive the appropriate care. Certain services, such as mental health services, prescription and drug coverage, and vision and dental care may be compromised. Furthermore
The Senate is expected to engage in a “vote-a-rama” — a lengthy session for debating and voting on amendments — beginning April 4, with the possibility of extending into the weekend, according to The Hill. Differences in instructions between the Senate and House versions of the resolution could further complicate negotiations toward a final agreement.
