The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has submitted formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in response to the latter’s publication of a proposed regulation that would govern how Medicare will pay for acute-care hospital inpatient services and long-term hospital care in the coming 2020 fiscal year.

The 14-page MedPAC report addresses four aspects of the proposed Medicare payment regulation:

  • inpatient- and outpatient drug- and device related payment proposals
  • proposed changes in the hospital area wage index
  • the reporting of hospitals’ uncompensated care on the Medicare cost report’s S-10 worksheet
  • the long-term hospital prospective payment system

MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving the Medicare program.  While its recommendations are not binding on either Congress or the administration, MedPAC is highly influential in governing circles and its recommendations often find their way into legislation, regulations, and new public policy.

See MedPAC’s letter to CMS here.