Deal Ends Government Shutdown

The president signed into law Nov. 12, legislation that passed in the U.S. House earlier in the day to end the longest federal government shutdown in history. ACR® closely monitored efforts to reopen the government, paying particular attention to provisions that impact patients, radiologists and their practices.

The law retroactively restores the ability for providers to bill for telehealth services under COVID-era rules that were in place prior to Oct. 1 and retroactively restores the minimum Medicare Geographic Price Cost Index (GPCI) floor to 1.0 through Jan. 30. Additionally, the law funds quality measure endorsement, input and selection, and makes additional funding available to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for implementation of the No Surprises Act.

The law stops implementation of statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO), a budget mechanism that would have resulted in a -2% across the board Medicare cut triggered by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

This law includes fiscal year 2026 funding for three of the 12 government appropriation bills (Agriculture–FDA, Military Construction–Veterans Affairs, and the legislative branch). The Ag-FDA bill provides $7 billion for the FDA, compared to $6.7 billion in the House proposal and $7.1 billion in the Senate proposal. All remaining agencies, including NIH, ARPA-H, CDC and AHRQ are flat funded through Jan. 30.

The shutdown halted grant proposal reviews and issuance of new awards, but grantees now can resume communication with federal agencies to receive technical or administrative support regarding their research efforts. Additionally, the law extends language prohibiting changes to indirect cost reimbursements, blocking adjustments to grantee negotiated rates at NIH. Earlier this year the Trump administration attempted to implement a 15% cap on reimbursement rates, which resulted in lawsuits tied up in the judicial system.

ACR continues to monitor and update members as the federal government begins to reopen. If you have questions or for more information, contact Rebecca Spangler, ACR Senior Director, Government Affairs.