Medicare physician fee schedule

Federal Health Policy Update for December 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 8-14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. MedPAC Rate Recommendations At their latest public meeting, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted preliminary approval of the following rate updates for 2025 Medicare payments: Inpatient and outpatient services –update provided for in current law plus 1.5% and adoption of a safety-net index policy to pay safety-net hospitals another $4 billion. Physicians and other health professionals –update of 50% of the Medicare economic index and a new add-on payment for services [...]

joe2023-12-14T22:30:50-05:00December 14, 2023|340b, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, health equity, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care, Telehealth|

MedPAC Meets, Makes 2025 Payment Recommendations

2025 Medicare payments led the agenda at last week’s meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. After hearing presentations on the various Medicare payment systems and discussing the adequacy of current Medicare reimbursement, MedPAC’s commissioners provisionally endorses the following changes in 2025 Medicare payments. Inpatient and outpatient services – an update provided for in current law plus 1.5 percent and a shift to a safety-net index policy that would pay safety-net hospitals another $4 billion. Physicians and other health professionals – an increase of 50 percent of the Medicare economic index and introduction of an add-on payment for services provided [...]

joe2023-12-12T17:52:27-05:00December 13, 2023|hospitals, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|

Federal Health Policy Update for November 30

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 17-30. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act CMS has released two new FAQs to provide guidance in advance of the Independent Dispute Resolution portal reopening for batched disputes and air ambulance disputes; that service remains temporarily suspended. These FAQs together explain how certified IDR entities may determine whether a dispute is appropriately batched in light of recent court rulings; provide information about policy for extending existing IDR deadlines once the federal IDR portal reopens to all batched [...]

joe2023-11-30T20:59:02-05:00November 30, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, Federal Update, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 15

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of December 12-15. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has unveiled its “COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan,” the major components of which are expanding easy access to free COVID-19 testing options in the winter; making vaccinations and treatments readily available as cases rise; preparing personnel and resources; and focusing on protecting the highest-risk Americans. Learn more about the plan from this White House fact sheet and go here for a transcript of the White House [...]

FEDERAL HEALTH POLICY UPDATE FOR November 3

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of October 31 to November 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Medicare Payment Regulations In the past week CMS has published four regulations presenting how it will pay providers in the coming year. Outpatient prospective payment system – CMS announced a 3.8 percent increase for Medicare outpatient and ambulatory surgical payments. It also adopted its proposal to establish rural emergency hospitals as a new kind of hospital provider; removed 11 surgical procedures from its inpatient-only list and authorized [...]

iqtsupport2022-11-03T17:41:10-04:00November 3, 2022|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

MedPAC Looks at Outpatient Payments

The question of whether Medicare should pay different rates for outpatient services delivered in different types of settings was very much on the minds of Medicare Payment Advisory Commission members during their public meetings last week. The issue has been around for a while: are there valid reasons for some facilities to be paid more for certain outpatient services than other facilities? Or should the payment rate for a given service be the same regardless of where that service is delivered? Does the site of the service matter – or should it? At issue are Medicare payments made to private [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-18T06:00:01-05:00November 18, 2021|Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

MedPAC Issues 2018 Report to Congress

The non-partisan legislative branch agency that advises Congress and the administration on Medicare payment policies has submitted its mandatory annual report to Congress. Among the findings included in the report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission are: Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program has not resulted in increases in emergency room visits or hospital observation stays. Many Medicare accountable care organizations, while maintaining or improving quality, are producing more modest savings than predicted. MedPAC approves of Medicare’s proposals to redesign the case-mix classification system for skilled nursing facilities. MedPAC supports changes Medicare has proposed for patient assessment and therapy requirements for [...]

iqtsupport2018-06-21T10:33:14-04:00June 21, 2018|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, MedPAC, post-acute care|