Medicare payments to doctors paused as shutdown drags on

Tara Bannow covers hospitals, providers, and insurers. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing Medicare payments to doctors, as negotiations tied to the government shutdown drag on. 

CMS announced the pause in a notice on its website but didn’t say when it would end. It’s happening because Congress needs to reauthorize certain Medicare payment programs related to telehealth and rural providers, and that reauthorization has gotten wrapped up in the overall deal to reopen the government. 

It’s not clear why all physician payments have been cut off rather than just the programs that need to be renewed. CMS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.