II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3344 

To protect the American Taxpayer and Medicare. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 8, 2021 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. COTTON, Mr. 

SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. 

HAWLEY, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. MARSHALL, and Mr. RUBIO) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To protect the American Taxpayer and Medicare. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting the Amer5 ican Taxpayer and Medicare Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENTS TO MEDICARE SEQUESTRATION RE7 DUCTIONS. 

8 (a) EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION

9 THROUGH MARCH 2022.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3709(a) of division 

2 A of the CARES Act (2 U.S.C. 901a note) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in the subsection header by inserting 

5 ‘‘AND ADJUSTMENT’’ after ‘‘SUSPENSION’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘December 31, 2021’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘March 31, 2022’’. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if enacted as 

10 part of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136). 

11 (b) ADJUSTMENTS TO MEDICARE PROGRAM SEQUES12 TRATION REDUCTION WITH RESPECT TO FISCAL YEARS

13 2022 AND 2030.—Section 251A(6) of the Balanced Budg14 et and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 

15 901a(6)) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub17 paragraph (E); and 

18 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol19 lowing new subparagraphs: 

20 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding the 2 percent limit 

21 specified in subparagraph (A) for payments for 

22 the Medicare programs specified in section 

23 256(d), the sequestration order of the President 

24 under such subparagraph for fiscal year 2022 

25 shall be applied to such payments so that with 


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1 respect to the period beginning on April 1, 

2 2022, and ending on June 30, 2022, the pay3 ment reduction shall be 1.0 percent. 

4 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding the 2 percent limit 

5 specified in subparagraph (A) for payments for 

6 the Medicare programs specified in section 

7 256(d), the sequestration order of the President 

8 under such subparagraph for fiscal year 2030 

9 shall be applied to such payments so that— 

10 ‘‘(i) with respect to the first 6 months 

11 in which such order is effective for such 

12 fiscal year, the payment reduction shall be 

13 2.25 percent; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) with respect to the second 6 

15 months in which such order is so effective 

16 for such fiscal year, the payment reduction 

17 shall be 3 percent.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF SUPPORT FOR PHYSICIANS AND 

19 OTHER PROFESSIONALS IN ADJUSTING TO 

20 MEDICARE PAYMENT CHANGES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1848 of the Social Secu22 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–4) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (c)(2)(B)(iv)(V), by striking 

24 ‘‘2021’’ and inserting ‘‘2021 or 2022’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (t)— 


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1 (A) in the subsection header, by striking 

2 ‘‘2021’’ and inserting ‘‘2021 AND 2022’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘during 2021’’ and in5 serting ‘‘during 2021 and 2022’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘for such services fur7 nished on or after January 1, 2021, and 

8 before January 1, 2022, by 3.75 percent.’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘for— 

10 ‘‘(A) such services furnished on or after 

11 January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2022, 

12 by 3.75 percent; and 

13 ‘‘(B) such services furnished on or after 

14 January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2023, 

15 by 3.0 percent.’’; and 

16 (C) in paragraph (2)(C)— 

17 (i) in the subparagraph header, by 

18 striking ‘‘2021’’ and inserting ‘‘2021 AND

19 2022’’; 

20 (ii) by inserting ‘‘for services fur21 nished in 2021 or 2022’’ after ‘‘under this 

22 subsection’’; and 

23 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or 2022, respec24 tively’’ before the period at the end. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Section 101(c) of division N of the 

2 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116– 

3 260) is amended— 

4 (1) in the first sentence— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘April 1, 2022’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘each of April 1, 2022, and April 1, 2023’’; 

7 and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘, as added by subsection 

9 (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘furnished during 2021 or 

10 2022, respectively’’; and 

11 (2) in the second sentence— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘Such report’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘Each such report’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘with respect to 2021 or 

15 2022, as applicable’’ after ‘‘under such sec16 tion’’. 

17 SEC. 4. PRESERVING PATIENT ACCESS TO CRITICAL CLIN18 ICAL LAB SERVICES. 

19 (a) REVISED PHASE-IN OF REDUCTIONS FROM PRI20 VATE PAYOR RATE IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 

21 1834A(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 1395m–1(b)(3)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘through 

24 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2025’’; and 

25 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘for 2021’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘for each of 2021 and 2022’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘2022 

5 through 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2023 through 

6 2025’’. 

7 (b) REVISED REPORTING PERIOD FOR REPORTING

8 OF PRIVATE SECTOR PAYMENT RATES FOR ESTABLISH9 MENT OF MEDICARE PAYMENT RATES.—Section 

10 1834A(a)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 1395m–1(a)(1)(B)) is amended— 

12 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘December 31, 

13 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2022’’; and 

14 (2) in clause (ii)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2022’’ and in16 serting ‘‘January 1, 2023’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘March 31, 2022’’ and in18 serting ‘‘March 31, 2023’’. 

19 SEC. 5. DELAY TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RADI20 ATION ONCOLOGY MODEL UNDER THE MEDI21 CARE PROGRAM. 

22 Section 133 of Division CC of the Consolidated Ap23 propriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘January 1, 2022’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

25 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. MEDICARE IMPROVEMENT FUND. 

2 Section 1898(b)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 1395iii(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal year 

4 2021’’ and all that follows through the period at the end 

5 and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2021, $101,000,000.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. PAYGO ANNUAL REPORT. 

7 For the purposes of the annual report issued pursu8 ant to section 5 of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 

9 2010 (2 U.S.C. 934) after adjournment of the first session 

10 of the 117th Congress, and for determining whether a se11 questration order is necessary under such section, the 

12 debit for the budget year on the 5-year scorecard, if any, 

13 and the 10-year scorecard, if any, shall be deducted from 

14 such scorecard in 2022 and added to such scorecard in 

15 2023. 

Æ 


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