The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), on June 12, published their second annual report to Congress on Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System. The annual reports include findings on the Medicare program as well as recommendations for specific changes to Congress.
The report includes the following unanimously approved recommendations:
- Congress should replace the current–law updates to the physician fee schedule with an annual update based on a portion of the growth in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI).
- Congress should direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the accuracy of Medicare’s relative payment rates for clinician services by collecting and using timely data that reflect the costs of delivering care.
- For fee-for-service beneficiaries, Congress should set coinsurance for outpatient services at critical access hospitals equal to 20% of the payment amount for services that require cost sharing and place a cap on critical access hospitals’ outpatient coinsurance equal to the inpatient deductible.
MedPAC will resume hosting public meetings in September leading up to the 2026 annual report.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
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