MedPAC Seeks 1% Increase for Hospital Services January 13, 2012 Medicare, News, Payment hospital, Medicare payment, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC 0 Medicare payments for hospitals' inpatient and outpatient services should increase 1%, Medicare's advisory panel recommended Thursday, while pay for evaluation and management in hospitals' outpatient facilities should drop to the amount provided to physicians' offices for such services. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted 16-1 to recommend the 1% update for inpatient and outpatient hospital services for 2013. Additionally, the panel voted 14-2 (with one abstention) for a three-year phase-in of the lower hospital outpatient examination payments to equalize Medicare pay to hospital outpatient departments for evaluation and management office visits with rates for such care provided in physician offices. MedPAC recommended a study of the impacts of the cuts, especially on hospitals that serve large proportions of low-income patients. “Over time, Medicare needs to move toward paying the same amount for the same service regardless of the provider type” providing it, Glenn Hackbarth, chairman of MedPAC, said before the hospital examination vote. The hospital recommendations have drawn strong criticism from hospital advocates for months over concerns that the cuts would especially affect facilities serving poor patients and disrupt movements to care integration in various ways. MedPAC members responded to such concerns by highlighting a provision of the recommended cut that limits reductions during the phase-in period to 2% of Medicare payments for disproportionate-share hospitals at or above the median. Separately, MedPAC abstained from recommending any updates in physician pay rates because it formally recommended Congress replace the physician sustainable growth-rate formula in October. Additionally, the panel unanimously recommended: a 0.5% update for ambulatory surgical centers; a 1% update for outpatient dialysis services; and a 0.5% update for hospice services. Source: Modern Healthcare, January 12, 2012. Comments are closed.
