Emmett Till Antilynching Act Passes House of Representatives

“Today is a day of enormous consequence for our nation,” said Rep. Rush. “By passing my Emmett Till Antilynching Act, the House has sent a reso…

Silence DoGood March 2, 2022

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Rush and McKinley Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Hold Internet Companies Accountable for Sales of Deadly, Illegal Drugs Online

“The prohibitively high cost of lifesaving prescription drugs leads many Americans to turn to the internet in search of alternatives, but a lack of …

Silence DoGood January 8, 2022

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Rush Announces Nearly $197 Million Delivered in Tax Cuts to Seventy Nine Thousand Families in Illinois’ 1st Congressional District

Rush voted for the expanded monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) as part of the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law by President Biden in March.…

Silence DoGood December 14, 2021

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Rush Statement on Verdict in McMichael and Bryan Trial for Murder of Ahmaud Arbery

“Ahmaud Arbery’s murder was a modern-day lynching. The facts were clear. The crime was captured on video. The men who killed Arbery deserve to be …

Silence DoGood November 24, 2021

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Rush Energy Security Bill Signed into Law as Part of Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

"Recent cyber threats, including the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, have served as sharp reminders of the urgent need to modernize and protect our nat…

Silence DoGood November 22, 2021

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Rush Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Cuts to Critical Services with Medicare Pay Cuts Looming (Washington, D.C.) — Friday, U.S. Representatives Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) announced the introduction of the Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6048), new bipartisan legislation that would prevent looming Medicare reimbursement cuts of up to 20% for specialists providing treatment for cancer, kidney failure, artery disease, and other diseases. The bill would also require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study the impact on providers of previous changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and recommend longer-term reforms to the PFS. Rush Statement “Specialty providers are facing cut after cut after cut, year after year after year, while CMS is busy counting pennies,” said Rush. “Moving forward with these misguided cuts will be detrimental to the Biden Administration’s stated goals of achieving health equity and will undoubtedly inflict disproportionate harm on minorities and other vulnerable patient groups. I have been fighting to stop these ill-conceived changes to the Physical Fee Schedule every single step of the way. I thank my colleague, Rep. Bilirakis, for joining me in this important legislation, our most recent effort to prevent these cuts from going into effect.” Bill Specifics Specifically, the legislation would block the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing a portion of the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) rule related to updating clinical labor data. Because the PFS is required to be budget-neutral, the changes will necessitate massive pay cuts to specialty providers, many of whom provide treatment for diseases that disproportionately affect Black and Latino patients. This will undermine health equity and force specialty providers to close, leading to even worse health impacts for many vulnerable groups. In September, Rush and Bilirakis led 73 other Members of Congress in letter urging CMS not to finalize the clinical labor portions of the rule. Preventing Cuts The cuts that the new Rush–Bilirakis legislation seeks to halt would come on top of additional looming cuts for specialty providers to offset last year’s scheduled fee increase for Medicare office-based evaluation and management (E/M). Last year, Rep. Rush led multiple letters to House Leadership and to CMS emphasizing the importance of preventing these cuts in order to protect patients' access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts were temporarily delayed in part due to Rush’s advocacy. The full text of the Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act is available HERE.

Rush and Bilirakis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Cuts to Critical Services with Medicare Pay Cuts Looming

Changes will force specialty providers to close, with detrimental impacts on health equity

Silence DoGood November 20, 2021

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Committee Passes Rush Bill to Make Certain Health Fields more Diverse

Rush: “The consistent lack of diversity in these fields is a disservice to minority patients all across our nation”

Silence DoGood November 17, 2021

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In the Wake of Water Issues Plaguing Dixmoor Rush Calls on EPA to Study Water Supply and Delivery Systems for Chicago South Suburbs

Rush: Dixmoor water issues are an “unacceptable and disgraceful state of affairs”

Silence DoGood November 15, 2021

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Rush Urges Secretary Buttigieg to Use Funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill for CTA Extension

Rush: Termination of Red Line at 95th Street has “considerable equity implications,” “reminds one of the ‘colony’ and the ‘motherland’ d…

Silence DoGood November 15, 2021

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