President Signs Budget Control Act of 2011

Yesterday, President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 into law. The law calls for the national debt limit to be increased from $2.1 to $2.4 trillion. The plan also calls for between $2.2 and $2.4 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade. The first round of spending cuts will total $935 billion over the next decade. The second round of savings will be tied to the work of a newly formed joint Congressional bipartisan "super committee". This committee is required to develop legislation by November 23, 2011 that would result in savings of at least $1.2 trillion. If the committee is unable to produce a bill or Congress fails to pass it, a total of $1.2 trillion in defection reduction would be achieved through across-the-board-cuts.

As we mentioned earlier in the week, the door is still open for cuts to Medicare in the second phase of the bill. Although the Budget Control Act of 2011 caps Medicare cuts at 2 percent, these cuts will take place in the form of reduced reimbursement rates to Medicare doctors, hospitals, and other providers. In addition to these cuts, Medicare providers are already facing a 25 percent reimbursement cut in January 2012, as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) was not resolved in the debt ceiling debate.

NPAF will engage and educate members of the super committee to ensure that Medicare patients' access to care is a top priority in their deliberations. We will monitor the panel's recommendations and pursue every opportunity to emphasize that cuts to providers simply means cuts to patients.