Congress delays steep Medicare payment cuts

Feb 01, 2021 Re-posted from the February 2021 issue of Vascular Specialist

By Beth Bales

Both the House of Representatives and Senate approved legislation to delay steep Medicare cuts that were set to take effect Jan. 1, 2021. This action follows thousands of hours of effort by the SVS Government Relations and PAC Steering committees, Advocacy Council and staff, as well as an unprecedent level of member involvement. Nearly 800 members engaged in grassroots efforts to write their lawmakers and urge their support for stopping the cuts.

In four separate efforts to engage with Congress, members sent 2,627 messages to their lawmakers. One campaign, urging Congress to act on bills directed at stopping the cuts, garnered 925 calls to action, an SVS record. “We thank the hundreds of SVS members who responded to our call for action on behalf of their patients – an unprecedented demonstration of the power of the SVS and Surgical Care Coalition to drive our shared legislative agenda," said Ronald L. Dalman, SVS president.

"Thanks as well to the SVS Advocacy staff, Policy and Advocacy Council, and Government Relations and PAC Steering committees for their commitment to this effort over the past year. There's more work to do but step one – stopping the draconian and arbitrary cuts – achieved.”

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