MedPAC

MedPAC Makes 2026 Medicare Rate Recommendations

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently released “Report to the Congress:  Medicare Payment Policy,” its required March report to Congress.  In addition to addressing a variety of Medicare issues, MedPAC presented its 2026 Medicare rate recommendations to Congress.  Those recommendations are: Hospital inpatient and outpatient services – the rate increase in current law plus one percent. MedPAC also reiterated its past recommendation that Medicare redistribute current Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) and uncompensated care payments through MedPAC’s own mechanism, the Medicare Safety-Net Index (MSNI) it introduced in 2023, maintaining that doing so, when supplemented with an additional $4 billion in [...]

2025-03-20T14:44:09-04:00March 25, 2025|Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
Read More

Federal Health Policy Update for March 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 14-20.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has rescinded Executive Order 13994 of January 21, 2021, titled “Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats.”  In response to this action, CMS rescinded its November 22, 2022 memo “The Importance of Timely Use of COVID-19 Therapeutics,” the purpose of which, according the memo, was “…to highlight the importance of providing timely access to available COVID-19 therapeutics to patients who test positive [...]

2025-03-20T16:00:25-04:00March 20, 2025|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
Read More

MedPAC Meets

MedPAC’s commissioners held their latest public meetings on Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7.   The subjects on the meetings’ agenda were: reforming Medicare physician fee schedule updates and improving the accuracy of relative payment rates reducing beneficiary cost-sharing for Medicare-covered outpatient services at critical access hospitals Medicare insurance agents Medigap mandated report: payment for ground ambulance services examining home health care use among Medicare Advantage enrollees institutional special needs plans reducing beneficiary cost-sharing for Medicare-covered outpatient services at critical access hospitals Go here for summaries of the issues and key points and links to the presentations delivered by MedPAC staff and [...]

2025-03-11T10:52:28-04:00March 12, 2025|Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
Read More

Federal Health Policy Update for February 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 7 - 13.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Introduction With the pause in external communication that the new administration imposed on HHS three weeks ago, including announcements, advisories, regular publications, and web site updates, there has been very little public communication from or activity involving HHS in the past week.  While an HHS spokesperson explained that the moratorium has been eased and agencies are now permitted to engage in some public communication, subject to review, such activity remains very [...]

2025-02-13T15:23:17-05:00February 13, 2025|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|
Read More

Federal Health Policy Update for January 23

The Administration Public Communication The new administration has directed HHS to pause all external communications, including announcements, advisories, regular publications, and web site updates.  According to a published report, "HHS has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health," a spokesperson wrote in an email.  "This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization.  There are exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions believe are mission critical, but they will be made on a case-by-case basis."  The directive [...]

2025-01-23T14:37:57-05:00January 23, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, Federal Update, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare bad debt reimbursement, Medicare cuts, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Pennsylvania Update|
Read More

MedPAC Meets

MedPAC’s commissioners held their latest public meetings on Thursday, January 13 and Friday, January 14.   The subjects on the meetings’ agenda were: assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: physician and other health professional services assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: hospital inpatient and outpatient services assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: skilled nursing facility services; home health agency services; inpatient rehabilitation facility services; outpatient dialysis services; and hospice services eliminating Medicare’s coverage limits on stays in freestanding inpatient psychiatric facilities Medicare prescription drug program (Part D): status report ambulatory surgical center services: status report the Medicare Advantage program: status report [...]

2025-01-21T17:23:04-05:00January 22, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Federal Update, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
Read More

Federal Health Policy Update for December 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 13-19.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Funding for the operation of the federal government will expire tomorrow, December 20, unless Congress passes a funding bill.  Earlier this week, congressional leaders agreed on a continuing resolution that included a number of health care priorities, including relief from scheduled Medicaid DSH cuts, relief for Medicare physician payment cuts, extension of telehealth flexibilities, extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, a number of changes in the practices of pharmacy [...]

2024-12-19T16:06:57-05:00December 19, 2024|340b, Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|
Read More

MedPAC Meets, Offers Preliminary 2026 Rate Proposals

MedPAC’s commissioners held their latest public meeting on Thursday, December 12 and Friday, December 13.  The subjects on the meeting’s agenda were: assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: physician and other health professional services assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: hospital inpatient and outpatient services; and mandated report on rural emergency hospitals assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: skilled nursing facility services assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: inpatient rehabilitation facility services assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: home health care services assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: hospice services assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: outpatient dialysis services In [...]

2024-12-17T13:33:44-05:00December 17, 2024|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
Read More

MedPAC Meets

MedPAC’s commissioners held their latest public meetings on Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8.  The subjects on the meetings’ agenda were: reforming physician fee schedule updates and improving the accuracy of payments considering the participation bonus for clinicians in advanced alternative payment models structural differences between the prescription drug plan and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan markets assessing Medicare Advantage provider networks Medicare’s coverage limits on stays in freestanding inpatient psychiatric facilities Go here for summaries of the issues and key points and links to the presentations delivered by MedPAC staff and find a transcript of the two-day session [...]

2024-11-14T16:54:24-05:00November 18, 2024|Alternative payment models, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
Read More

Federal Health Policy Update for November 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 8-14.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Election Update House of Representatives Though the outcome of nine races for seats in the House remains undecided, Republicans have won enough seats to control the House in the new Congress.  Yesterday, Republicans voted to nominate the current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (LA), for Speaker in the new Congress and will hold the vote for that position when the 119th Congress convenes in Washington, D.C. on January 3.  It is expected, after [...]

2024-11-14T15:18:02-05:00November 14, 2024|ACO, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|
Read More

© 2023 DeBrunner & Associates, All Rights Reserved.

Go to Top