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 |
|---|---|---|
Reforming Medicare’s wage index systemsThe Congress should repeal the existing Medicare wage index statutes, including current exceptions, and require the Secretary to phase in new Medicare wage index systems for hospitals and other types of providers that: |
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June 2023 |
Aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settingsThe Congress should more closely align payment rates across ambulatory settings for selected services that are safe and appropriate to provide in all settings and when doing so does not pose a risk to access. |
|
June 2023 |
Addressing high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B (3)The Congress should require the Secretary to: |
|
June 2023 |
Addressing high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B (2)The Congress should give the Secretary the authority to establish a single average sales price–based payment rate for drugs and biologics with similar health effects. |
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June 2023 |
Addressing high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B (1)The Congress should require the Secretary to cap the Medicare payment rate for Part B drugs and biologics that are approved under the accelerated approval program (with limited circumstances for the Secretary to waive the payment cap) if: In addition, the Congress should give the Secretary the authority to cap the Medicare payment rate of… Read more » |
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June 2023 |
Hospital inpatient and outpatient services (1)For fiscal year 2024, the Congress should update the 2023 Medicare base payment rates for general acute care hospitals by the amount specified in current law plus 1 percent. |
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March 2023 |
Hospital inpatient and outpatient services (2)In fiscal year 2024, the Congress should: |
|
March 2023 |
Physician and other health professional services (1)For calendar year 2024, the Congress should update the 2023 Medicare base payment rate for physician and other health professional services by 50 percent of the projected increase in the Medicare Economic Index. |
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March 2023 |
Physician and other health professional services (2)The Congress should enact a non-budget-neutral add-on payment, not subject to beneficiary cost sharing, under the physician fee schedule for services provided to low-income Medicare beneficiaries. These add-on payments should equal a clinician’s allowed charges for these beneficiaries multiplied by: |
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March 2023 |
Ambulatory surgical center servicesThe Commission reiterates its March 2022 recommendation that the Secretary require ambulatory surgical centers to report cost data. |
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March 2023 |