MedPAC News and Research

RSS

Medpac recommendation: Adjust Medicare's hospital inpatient payments to recoup overpayments

Modern Healthcare: "The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is recommending that Congress further adjust Medicare's hospital inpatient payments over three years to recover overpayments that have resulted from recent documentation and coding changes." MedPAC also "called for the same recommendation as last year: to increase payment rates for inpatient and outpatient hospital services at the full rate of inflation, concurrent with the implementation of a quality incentives program.

18 Jan 2010

MedPAC home care cuts can harm home health agencies and impact senior Americans, says NAHC

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) once again has used a flawed data analysis to recommend cuts that would severely damage the ability of thousands of home health care agencies to provide valuable services to the most vulnerable of Americans, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) said today.

11 Dec 2009

MedPAC suggests recouping overpayments to hospitals

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission suggested Thursday that Congress should adjust what it pays hospitals for inpatient care in 2011 to recoup overpayments that have come from changes in documentation and coding used by Medicare, according to a report on Modern Healthcare.

10 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 3, 2009

Today's headlines indicate that Senate leaders may have broken their stalemate regarding the pending, Democratic-backed health reform legislation -- clearing the way today for votes on amendments.

3 Dec 2009

Medpac examines regional differences in use of medical care

The New York Times Prescriptions blog: "A federal advisory panel said Tuesday that regional differences in the use of health care services were substantial but smaller than many experts had suggested. The panel, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, found that the use of services by Medicare beneficiaries in the Miami area was almost 40 percent higher than the national average.

2 Dec 2009

Policymakers urged to preserve access to advanced imaging in final health care reform legislation

Survivors and patients with cancers and heart disease, along with patient advocate organizations and physicians, today urged policymakers to enhance early diagnosis of deadly diseases by preserving access to advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans, in final health care reform legislation.

15 Oct 2009

Concord Coalition sends list of suggestions concerning the healthcare reform bill

In the coming days, you have the unenviable task of combining the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform bill with the bill that emerged from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Aware of the difficulty and the competing pressures you face, we have identified in the attached memorandum key areas where we believe the potential of the legislation to produce fiscal gains can be strengthened. We hope our views will help guide your work -- consistent with fiscal responsibility and sustainability.

12 Oct 2009

Lawmakers plan to finance health reform with Medicare cuts, much to seniors' dismay

Lawmakers are planning to pay for much of their plans to expand coverage to the uninsured by slowing Medicare spending by as much as $500 billion over 10 years, Long Island Newsday reports. Democrats say the only thing the cuts "take out of Medicare is waste" - in the words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, - but Republicans who oppose the Democrat-led reform effort have warned that cuts will reduce services for seniors.

5 Oct 2009

Medicare commission proposal and MedPAC data shape reform

A proposal for a Medicare Commission passes through the Senate Finance markup while MedPAC data may help rework Medicare spending.

29 Sep 2009

Senators urge the CMS to spare funding cuts for radiation oncology services

Cancer physicians and cancer care advocates applauded a bipartisan letter led by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday urging that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) spare life-saving radiation oncology services from a major Medicare funding cut proposed for diagnostic imaging services. The 32 Senators signing the letter stated their unanimous concern that these funding cuts could force freestanding and community-based cancer centers to shut down, thereby limiting access to care for seniors - particularly in rural areas.

25 Sep 2009

Policymakers need to be educated on the radical difference between radiation therapy and diagnostic testing

Concerned members of the cancer community, including physicians, patient organizations and other care advocates, spoke out today in opposition to a proposed federal policy under consideration by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would lump life-saving radiation therapy in with diagnostic testing services in receiving major Medicare funding cuts.

2 Sep 2009

Senators move closer to centrist health reform bill

Lawmakers working on a bipartisan health care reform bill in the Senate Wednesday signed on some centrist Democrats who believe they could support the reform and sell it to constituents back home over the recess, The New York Times reports.

6 Aug 2009

Baucus: Bipartisan group of finance committee members reach Medpac agreement

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said that a bipartisan group of six Finance Committee senators have "coalesced" around language "that would give new weight to the recommendations of an entity currently known as the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC," Dow Jones reports.

5 Aug 2009

Democrats to push unscored benefits to counter latest CBO analysis

Democrats are planning to push the point this week that health care reform, with a price tag of up to $1.6 trillion, has benefits and cost savings that aren't scored by the Congressional Budget Office, The Hill reports.

28 Jul 2009

Health care overhaul could include changes to doctor payments

The Wall Street Journal reports that "Democratic centrists said they won a tentative commitment from the White House to back a proposal to curb the growth of Medicare costs. ... One proposal pushed both by President Barack Obama and some centrists is to give the executive branch the authority to implement cuts to Medicare spending that would be recommended by independent experts. Congress could stop the cuts, but only if it acted swiftly. Fiscal conservatives say that under the current system, which gives Congress more power, lawmakers shy away from politically tough votes to restrain Medicare costs."

22 Jul 2009

Efforts to 'fix' Medicare payments at center of reform

The Wall Street Journal reports: "A plan to end a program that would cut government payments to doctors is emerging as the flash point in the debate over whether President Barack Obama's effort to overhaul the health system would increase the federal budget deficit.

20 Jul 2009

Health overhaul issues fill the Sunday talk shows

The Associated Press reports: "President Barack Obama's advisers are urging critics of their health care overhaul to wait for Congress to finish writing legislation before issuing verdicts. They also signaled they are willing to wait longer than their White House-imposed August deadline for action if it means they can sway wary lawmakers.

20 Jul 2009

Obama administration proposes big changes in Medicare payment oversight

Determined to cut Medicare costs, the White House unveiled a plan that would shift much of the power over Medicare payment rates from Congress to the executive branch.

16 Jul 2009

Baucus signals finance committee progress on health overhaul bill

"A group of key Senate negotiators found a way to further reduce the price tag on the health care reform bill, bringing it in line with a $1 trillion target and moving the Senate Finance Committee closer to a deal, Chairman Max Baucus said Thursday," according to Politico.

29 Jun 2009