On March 3, Congressional leaders released a spending deal that would increase Medicare physician pay by 1.68%, mitigating by about half the 3.4% Medicare physician pay cut that began January 1, 2024. If passed by Congress before the next shutdown deadline March 8, the physician pay fix will be paid prospectively, not retroactively, given the late date in the year. The narrow health care provisions of the spending deal also leave out hospital site-neutral payment policies for now. Funding for the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute are not covered by this spending package.