Original Message
Posted By: Matt Reiter (Principal, Capitol Associates, Inc.) – Capitol Associates – reiterm@capitolassociates.com
Last night the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a pause on essentially all federal spending effective at 5 p.m. today. The memo’s instructions are written in very broad terms but it appears to impact grants, aid and other federal programs. The purpose of the pause appears to be allowing more time for political appointees who will oversee all layers of the federal bureaucracy to start their jobs and review these programs.
Notably, Medicare payments to physicians were specifically excluded from this order. However, federal Medicaid spending was not excluded and therefore is likely impacted by the pause. A subsequent announcement from OMB this afternoon clarified that this pause does not impact Medicaid and SNAP. Some states have said the portal they use to access their Medicaid funding was closed off. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged this but clarified that access to Medicaid funding will be restored soon.
HBMA’s Government Relations Committee is closely monitoring executive actions that impact the RCM industry. We will continue providing updates to members as new information develops.
Reply
Posted By: Matt Reiter (Principal, Capitol Associates, Inc.) – Capitol Associates – reiterm@capitolassociates.com
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) just rescinded yesterday’s Executive Order on withholding federal spending. While this immediate effort has ended, we expect new controls for federal spending to be a recurring theme for the Trump Administration over the next few months. The HBMA GR Committee will continue to keep members informed about important updates.