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) | Publication |
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Physician servicesThe Congress should update payments for physician services by the projected change in input prices less 0.8 percent in 2006. |
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Strategies to improve care: Pay for performance and information technology (E)The Congress should establish a quality incentive payment policy for physicians in Medicare. |
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Outpatient dialysis services (2)The Congress should establish a quality incentive payment policy for physicians and facilities providing outpatient dialysis services. |
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Physician servicesThe Congress should update payments for physician services by the projected change in input prices, less an adjustment for productivity growth of 0.9 percent, in 2005 |
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Physician servicesThe Congress should update payments for physician services by the projected change in input prices, less an adjustment for productivity growth of 0.9 percent, for 2004. |
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Medicare coverage of surgical technologists when functioning as first surgical assistantsThe Congress should not expand the list of providers eligible to bill Medicare for first assistant services to include certified surgical technologists. |
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Medicare coverage of nonphysician providers of mental health servicesThe Congress should not allow marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, and pastoral counselors to bill Medicare independently for mental health services. |
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Medicare payment to advanced practice nurses and physician assistantsThe Congress should increase Medicare payment rates for certified nurse-midwives to 85 percent of the physician fee schedule. The conversion factor for physician services should be adjusted to make this change budget neutral. |
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Accounting for changes in input pricesThe Secretary should use the wage and benefit proxies that most closely match the training and skill requirements of health care occupations in all input price indexes used for updating payments. In determining index weights, measures specific to the health sector and to occupation categories in which health care plays a major role should be… Read more » |
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Physician services (1)The Congress should repeal the sustainable growth rate system and instead require that the Secretary update payments for physician services based on the estimated change in input prices for the coming year, less and adjustment for growth in multifactor productivity. |
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