House passes six-month stopgap bill
The House on March 6 passed H.R. 933, a six-month stopgap spending bill funding the remainder of Fiscal Year 2013, by a vote of 267-151. The bill incorporates sequestration’s across-the-board cuts, but gives flexibility to the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. The total package is $982 billion – the level required by the sequestration order. The funding measure is expected to reach the Senate next week where it will most likely continue as a Continuing Resolution (CR). The National Rural Health Association urges Congress to protect rural patients and providers from the effects of sequestration. A two-percent across the board cut to Medicare providers disproportionately harms rural providers. Rural safety net providers should be carved-out of sequestration cuts to protect the 62 million rural patients they serve. For more information see here and here.