America’s Physician Groups (APG) submitted letters to Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), as well as five additional Senate offices, yesterday in support of their recently introduced Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Improvement Act. This legislation provides physician groups on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic with the financial resources they need to continue providing care to the communities they serve.
“Our members are among the many healthcare providers who have risen to the challenge during this very real threat to the health of our nation,” said Don Crane, APG President and CEO. “This legislation recognizes the impact COVID-19 has had on America’s physician groups and includes common-sense solutions to help mitigate the financial impact the pandemic has had on this vital cornerstone of community care.”
The legislation includes several key components to help physician group practices during the current public health emergency, including:
- Authorizing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer partial forgiveness for the loans provided by the accelerated and advance payment programs;
- Lowering the amount withheld from Medicare service claims from 100 percent to a much more manageable 25 percent; and,
- Lower the applicable interest rate of repayment to 2 percent
“Our members strongly support the accelerated and advance payment programs and legislation to modify them both,” said Crane. “We thank Sens. Shaheen and Bennet for their continued support of the men and women who are responding to COVID-19.”
Please click here to view APG’s letter.
