Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues.

MedPAC’s proposed Medicare 2021 payment recommendations dominated the December agenda, including:

• hospital inpatient and outpatient payments
• ambulatory surgical center payments
• physician and health professional payments
• hospice payments
• home health care payments
• inpatient rehabilitation facility payments
• long-term care hospital payments

In addition, MedPAC discussed Medicare’s policy for transfers between post-acute-care facilities and hospice and received a staff update on the Medicare Advantage program.

MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving Medicare.  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.

Go here for links to the policy briefs and presentations that supported MedPAC’s discussion of these issues and for a transcript of the two days of meetings.…

CMS has failed to implement many of the policy changes recommended to it by HHS’s Office of the Inspector General, according to a new OIG report.

Every year the Department of Health and Human Services’ OIG offers recommendations for policy changes designed to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in HHS programs.  This week, the OIG published “OIG’s Top Unimplemented Recommendations:  Solutions to Reduce Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in HHS Programs.”

Among the top 25 unimplemented recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are 14 involving Medicare and Medicaid.  Its top 10 unimplemented Medicare recommendations are:

1. CMS should take actions to ensure that incidents of potential abuse or neglect of Medicare beneficiaries are identified and reported.
2. CMS should reevaluate the inpatient rehabilitation facility payment system, which could include seeking legislative authority to make any changes necessary to more closely align inpatient rehabilitation facility payment rates and costs.
3. CMS should seek legislative authority to comprehensively reform the hospital wage index sy
4. CMS should seek legislative authority to implement least costly alternative policies for Part B drugs under appropriate circumstances.
5. CMS should provide consumers with additional information about hospices’ performance via Hospice Compare.
6. CMS should continue to work with the Accredited

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues.

The issues on MedPAC’s January agenda were:

• The Medicare prescription drug program (Part D):  status report and options for restructuring
• Redesigning the Medicare Advantage quality program:  initial modeling of a value incentive program
• Hospital inpatient and outpatient payments
• Physician payments
• Outpatient dialysis payments
• Skilled nursing facility, home health, inpatient rehabilitation facility, and long-term-care hospital payments
• Hospice and ambulatory surgery center payments
• The 340B program
• ACO beneficiary assignment

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.

Go here for links to the policy briefs and presentations that supported MedPAC’s discussion of these issues.…

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C.  The Medicare payment issues on its agenda were:

• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Physician and other health professional services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Ambulatory surgical center services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Hospital inpatient and outpatient services;
• Mandated report: Expanding the post-acute care transfer policy to hospice
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Skilled nursing facility services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Home health care services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Inpatient rehabilitation facility services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Long-term care hospital services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Outpatient dialysis services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Hospice services
• The Medicare Advantage program: Status report

A transcript of that MedPAC meeting is now available.  Find it here.…

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues.

The issues on MedPAC’s December agenda were:

• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Physician and other health professional services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Ambulatory surgical center services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Hospital inpatient and outpatient services;
• Mandated report: Expanding the post-acute care transfer policy to hospice
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Skilled nursing facility services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Home health care services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Inpatient rehabilitation facility services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Long-term care hospital services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Outpatient dialysis services
• Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Hospice services
• The Medicare Advantage program: Status report

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.

Go here for links to the policy briefs and presentations that supported MedPAC’s discussion of these issues.…