{"format":1,"id":"117-s-610","congress":117,"number":"S. 610","kind":"bill","group":"bills","title":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act","title_source":"Short Titles as Enacted","official_title":"A bill to address behavioral health and well-being among health care professionals.","titles":[{"type":"Official Title as Introduced","title":"A bill to address behavioral health and well-being among health care professionals."},{"type":"Short Titles from ENR (Enrolled) bill text","title":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) from Engrossed Amendment House bill text","title":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act"},{"type":"Display Title","title":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act"},{"type":"Short Titles as Passed House","title":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act"},{"type":"Short Titles as Enacted","title":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act"},{"type":"Other Short Titles","title":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Introduced","title":"Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate","title":"Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed Senate","title":"Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act"}],"outcome":"became_law","law_number":"Public Law 117-71","introduced":"2021-03-04","chambers":{"house":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2021-12-07","vote":{"id":"117-2021-h404","question":"On Passage","title":"Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act","result":"Passed","yea":222,"nay":212,"present":0,"not_voting":0,"source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll404.xml"}},"senate":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2021-12-09","vote":{"id":"117-2021-s491","question":"On the Motion","title":"Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 610","result":"Motion Agreed to","yea":59,"nay":35,"present":0,"not_voting":6,"source":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00491.xml"}}},"president":{"status":"signed","date":"2021-12-10"},"vice_president_tie_breaker":null,"latest_action":{"text":"Became Public Law No: 117-71.","date":"2021-12-10"},"nominees":null,"amendments":[],"other_votes":[{"chamber":"senate","date":"2021-12-09","question":"On the Cloture Motion","title":"Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 610","result":"Cloture Motion Agreed to","yea":64,"nay":36,"present":0,"not_voting":0,"kind":"procedural","source":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00490.xml"}],"crs_summary":{"date":"2021-12-10","stage":"Public Law","blocks":[{"k":"h","t":"Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act"},{"k":"p","t":"This bill makes several budgetary, technical, and procedural changes, particularly in relation to Medicare and increasing the debt limit."},{"k":"p","t":"Specifically, the bill continues to exempt Medicare from sequestration until March 31, 2022. (Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.)"},{"k":"p","t":"The bill also establishes expedited Senate procedures for considering legislation to increase the debt limit. The procedures limit debate, waive points of order, and prohibit amendments. The procedures may only be used once and expire after January 16, 2022."},{"k":"p","t":"Additionally, the bill (1) temporarily extends other provisions under Medicare, including a payment increase under the physician fee schedule; and (2) requires any debits recorded for FY2022 on the statutory pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) scorecards to be deducted from the scorecards for 2022 and added to the scorecards for 2023."}],"words":151},"summary":{"main_subject":{"text":"Changes Medicare payment rules, including sequestration reductions, physician fee schedule payments, clinical lab payments and the radiation oncology model, and sets expedited Senate procedures for a joint resolution on the debt limit.","cites":[{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H11B2D7897E284965BB26119C0FF5850B:~:text=2.%20Adjustments%20to%20Medicare%20sequestration%20reductions"},{"label":"Sec. 3","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H0174612F18254C229F318183A63A87A5:~:text=3.%20Extension%20of%20support%20for%20physicians%20and"},{"label":"Sec. 4","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H3F1D24B7D9974AD3AA33511651389D36:~:text=4.%20Preserving%20patient%20access%20to%20critical%20clinical"},{"label":"Sec. 8","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H9F1AED6C618C4489B6AD8013E7D2C049:~:text=8.%20Expedited%20procedures%20for%20considering%20an%20increase"}]},"core_areas":["Medicare sequestration reductions","Medicare physician fee schedule payments","Medicare clinical laboratory payment rates","Delay of the Medicare radiation oncology model","Statutory PAYGO scorecard timing","Expedited Senate procedures for a debt limit joint resolution"],"what_it_does":[{"text":"Changes the date in section 3709(a) of the CARES Act from December 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022, extending the temporary suspension of Medicare sequestration reductions and adding \"adjustment\" to the subsection header.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H11B2D7897E284965BB26119C0FF5850B:~:text=2.%20Adjustments%20to%20Medicare%20sequestration%20reductions"}},{"text":"Sets the Medicare payment reduction under the fiscal year 2022 sequestration order at 1.0 percent for April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022, and sets reductions of 2.25 percent and 3 percent for the first and second 6 months of the fiscal year 2030 order.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H11B2D7897E284965BB26119C0FF5850B:~:text=2.%20Adjustments%20to%20Medicare%20sequestration%20reductions"}},{"text":"Extends the Social Security Act payment adjustment for physician fee schedule services to 2022, applying a 3.0 percent increase to services furnished on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2023.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 3","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H0174612F18254C229F318183A63A87A5:~:text=3.%20Extension%20of%20support%20for%20physicians%20and"}},{"text":"Moves the clinical laboratory payment reduction phase-in one year later, through 2025, and moves the private payor rate reporting period to begin January 1, 2023 and end March 31, 2023.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 4","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H3F1D24B7D9974AD3AA33511651389D36:~:text=4.%20Preserving%20patient%20access%20to%20critical%20clinical"}},{"text":"Changes the implementation date of the radiation oncology model under Medicare from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 5","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H71500DB3603E428386339C209D048D48:~:text=5.%20Delay%20to%20the%20implementation%20of%20the"}},{"text":"Sets up Senate procedures for one joint resolution relating to increasing the debt limit, with debate limited to 10 hours, no amendments, and no consideration after January 16, 2022.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 8","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H9F1AED6C618C4489B6AD8013E7D2C049:~:text=8.%20Expedited%20procedures%20for%20considering%20an%20increase"}}],"unexpected":[{"category":"off_subject","items":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 6","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H46C66F89C9FA418DB1F9A2AA4D8071A1:~:text=6.%20Medicare%20Improvement%20Fund"},"heading":"Medicare Improvement Fund","effect":"Amends the Social Security Act so the Medicare Improvement Fund for fiscal year 2021 is $101,000,000.","amount":"$101,000,000","quote":"by striking “fiscal year 2021” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “fiscal year 2021, $101,000,000.”"}]},{"category":"rule_delay","items":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 5","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr#H71500DB3603E428386339C209D048D48:~:text=5.%20Delay%20to%20the%20implementation%20of%20the"},"heading":"Delay to the implementation of the radiation oncology model under the Medicare program","effect":"Moves the start date of the Medicare radiation oncology model from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023.","amount":null,"quote":"Section 133 of Division CC of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is amended by striking “January 1, 2022” and inserting “January 1, 2023”."}]}],"version":{"type":"Enrolled Bill","date":null,"rule":"enrolled","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr"},"current":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","approved":"2026-10-15","approved_by":"checks"},"changes":{"first":{"chamber":"Senate","type":"Engrossed in Senate","date":"2021-08-06","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/es"},"final":{"type":"Enrolled Bill","date":null,"href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/enr"},"kept":0.0,"replaced":true,"removed":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/es#id81636fb80e0c453a887e4486b51cbe46:~:text=2.%20Dissemination%20of%20best%20practices"},"heading":"Dissemination of best practices","effect":null,"partly":null,"part":null},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 3","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/es#idecb857f855ca4048856bb0cbbb99dc57:~:text=3.%20Education%20and%20awareness%20initiative%20encouraging%20use"},"heading":"Education and awareness initiative encouraging use of mental health and substance use disorder services by health care professionals","effect":null,"partly":null,"part":null},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 4","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/es#id4ead52613621426180ce55f059f8835d"},"heading":"Grants to promote mental health among the health professional workforce","effect":null,"partly":null,"part":null},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 5","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/es#idddc739504866419b8f1a71fac99d8593:~:text=5.%20Review%20with%20respect%20to%20health%20care"},"heading":"Review with respect to health care professional mental health and resiliency","effect":null,"partly":null,"part":null},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 6","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text/es#id40587C8E71E144D7B778E988D0F11ABE:~:text=6.%20GAO%20report"},"heading":"GAO report","effect":null,"partly":null,"part":null}],"added":[],"added_count":8,"approved":"2026-10-15","approved_by":"checks"},"sources":{"congress_gov":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610","text":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/610/text"},"card":{"image":"card/item/117-s-610.png","v":"143af52194a1","alt":"Votes on Record. S. 610, 117th Congress: Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act. House: 222 Yea, 212 Nay. Senate: 59 Yea, 35 Nay. Outcome: Became law, 10 Dec 2021."}}