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Advising the Congress on Medicare issues
MedPAC > Recommendations

Commission Recommendations

MedPAC makes recommendations to the Congress and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues affecting the administration of the Medicare program. With its recommendations, the Commission strives to improve the delivery of care, while ensuring financial stability and maximizing value for the program. After extensive analysis and evaluation, our recommendations are discussed and voted on by Commissioners in our public meetings. Recommendations are typically published in two main reports, released in March and June of each year.

Recommendations Topic(s) Date

Skilled nursing facility services (2)

The Secretary should develop a new classification system for care in skilled nursing facilities. Until this happens, the Congress should authorize the Secretary to: * Remove some or all of the 6.7 percent payment add-on currently applied to the rehabilitation RUG-III groups, and Reallocate the money to the nonrehabilitation RUG-III groups to achieve a better… Read more »
  • Delivery system reforms
  • Post-acute care

February 2004

Skilled nursing facility services (3)

The Secretary should direct skilled nursing facilities to report nursing costs separately from routine costs.
  • Post-acute care

February 2004

Home health services (1)

The Secretary should continue a series of nationally representative studies on access to home health services (similar to studies previously conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General)
  • Post-acute care

February 2003

Home health services (2)

The Congress should extend for one year add-on payments at 5 percent for home health services provided to Medicare beneficiaries who live in rural areas.
  • Post-acute care

February 2003

Home health services (3)

The Congress should eliminate the update to payment rates for home health services for fiscal year 2004.
  • Post-acute care

February 2003

Hospital inpatient and outpatient services (1)

The Secretary should add 13 DRGs to the post-acute transfer policy in fiscal year 2004 and then evaluate the effects on hospitals and beneficiaries before proposing further expansions.
  • Hospital
  • Post-acute care

February 2003

Skilled nursing facility services (1)

The Secretary should continue a series of nationally representative studies on access to skilled nursing facility services (similar to studies previously conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General).
  • Post-acute care

February 2003

Skilled nursing facility services (2)

The Congress should eliminate the update to payment rates for skilled nursing facility services for fiscal year 2004.
  • Post-acute care

February 2003

Skilled nursing facility services (3A)

Consistent with previous MedPAC recommendations, the Secretary should develop a new classification system for care in skilled nursing facilities. Because it may take time to develop this system, the Secretary should draw on new and existing research to reallocate payments to achieve a better balance of available resources between the rehabilitation and nonrehabilitation groups. To… Read more »
  • Delivery system reforms
  • Post-acute care

February 2003

Skilled nursing facility services (3B)

If necessary action does not occur within a timely manner, the Congress should provide for a market basket update, less an adjustment for productivity growth of 0.9 percent, for hospital-based skilled nursing facilities to be effective October 1, 2003.
  • Post-acute care

February 2003