held several sessions of interest to 黑料网® (黑料网®) during its last of 2022. Sessions of interest to 黑料网 members included Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services. The related draft MedPAC recommendation stated, “For fiscal year (FY) 2024, the Congress should update the 2023 Medicare base payment rates for general acute care hospitals by the amount determined under current law plus 1%.”
Another session focused on payment adequacy of physicians. The commission found that Medicare payment rates for clinicians have been adequate, however there are concerns of rising input costs. Commissioners considered a draft recommendation altering payment policies for physician services in 2024, saying Congress should update and increase the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule by 50% of the Medicare Economic Index for federal fiscal year 2024. Commissioners cited rising input costs and inflationary factors as reasoning for the recommendation. Additionally, Commissioners recognized the increasing gap between the costs of practicing medicine and what Medicare pays.
These recommendations will be included in the March report to Congress. For more information about MedPAC, please contact Christina Berry, 黑料网 Team Lead, Economic Policy.