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 |
|---|---|---|
Using market competition in fee-for-service Medicare (A)The Congress should give the Secretary demonstration authority to initiate competitive pricing demonstrations |
|
June 2003 |
Using market competition in fee-for-service Medicare (B)For demonstrations that prove successful, the Secretary should have the authority to implement competitive pricing. The Congress should have a fixed period of time to review and approve any implementation plan. |
|
June 2003 |
Rural beneficiaries’ access to careThe Secretary should identify strategies to increase rural beneficiaries’ participation in government programs that cover Medicare premiums and/or deductibles and coinsurance. |
|
June 2001 |
Reducing beneficiary coinsurance under the hospital outpatient prospective payment systemsCongress should continue the reduction in outpatient coinsurance to achieve a 20 percent coinsurance rate by 2010. |
|
March 2001 |
Assessing the design and impact of the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (C)The Congress should enact legislation to accelerate the rate of beneficiary coinsurance buy down under the outpatient prospective payment system and establish a date certain for achieving a coinsurance rate of 20 percent. This date should result in a time frame for implementation consistent with other Medicare payment policy changes. |
|
June 2000 |
Assessing the design and impact of the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (D)The Secretary should carefully monitor implementation of the outpatient prospective payment system to ensure that: * It does not have unintended, adverse consequences on beneficiaries’ access to care, * It does not compromise the quality of care delivered, and * The annual reductions in beneficiary coinsurance as a share of total payment are realized. |
|
June 2000 |
Access to home health services (A)The Secretary should speed the development of regulations that outline home health care coverage and eligibility criteria based on clinical characteristics of beneficiaries. The Secretary should report to the Congress recommending the legislation needed to accomplish the implementation of these regulations. |
|
June 1999 |
Improving the quality of care for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (A)The Secretary should determine clinical criteria for dialysis patients to receive increased frequency or duration of dialysis. The Secretary should then examine the feasibility of a multitiered composite rate that would allow different payments based on the frequency and duration of dialysis prescribed, as well as other factors related to adequacy of dialysis. |
|
June 1999 |
Improving the quality of care for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (C)The Secretary should determine clinical criteria for ESRD patients to be eligible for oral, enteral, or parenteral nutritional supplements. Coverage for these supplements should then be provided to eligible ESRD patients as a renal benefit apart from the composite rate. |
|
June 1999 |
Post-Acute Care Providers: Moving toward Prospective Payment (K)The Congress should establish in law clear eligibility and coverage guidelines for home health services. |
|
March 1999 |