House votes to remove Medicare cuts from trade bill

http://www.mcknights.com/news/house-votes-to-remove-medicare-cuts-from-trade-bill/article/420254/

Emily Morgan
June 11, 2015

The House voted 397-32 yesterday to remove controversial Medicare cuts from legislation that would have used Medicare dollars to help pay for the expansion of the Trade Assistance Adjustment program, giving a victory to providers.

The Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 now must pass in the Senate, which approved the Medicare cuts on May 22 despite strong opposition from provider groups. The cuts would extend sequestration through 2024 and add an additional 0.25% cut to the 2% cut implemented in 2013. That additional cut would take $700 million from Medicare in 2024. The Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 would instead create funding for the TAA by bolstering federal tax compliance laws.

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