Medicare has announced how it will pay hospitals for inpatient care in FY 2021 with publication of its annual inpatient prospective payment system regulation last week.

Among the changes announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services:

  • A 2.9 percent increase in fee-for-service inpatient rates.
  • A compromise on its proposal to require hospitals to report their payer-specific negotiated rates with Medicare Advantage plans.
  • Changes in how Medicare will calculate Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) uncompensated care payments.
  • A much smaller cut than originally proposed in the pool of funds for Medicare DSH uncompensated care payments.
  • Minor adjustments in the Medicare area wage index system.
  • Refinements in the Medicare graduate medical education program.
  • A new DRG for CAR T-cell payments and a new pathway to Medicare add-on payments for FDA-approved antimicrobial products.

Learn more from CMS’s fact sheet or see the final regulation itself.