The question of whether Medicare should pay different rates for outpatient services delivered in different types of settings was very much on the minds of Medicare Payment Advisory Commission members during their public meetings last week.

The issue has been around for a while:  are there valid reasons for some facilities to be paid more for certain outpatient services than other facilities?  Or should the payment rate for a given service be the same regardless of where that service is delivered?  Does the site of the service matter – or should it?

At issue are Medicare payments made to private physician offices, hospital outpatient departments, and ambulatory surgical centers and whether they should be adjusted based on some of the underlying costs associated with those facilities or the matter of who owns them – or whether a service is a service that should be reimbursed at the same rate regardless of where it is delivered.  Underlying this issue is whether providers should be compensated for such services through Medicare’s outpatient prospective payment system or its physician fee schedule.

It matters where MedPAC ultimately comes down on this issue.  While the agency’s primary role is to advise Congress on Medicare payment issues, its views are highly respected in health policy circles and often find their way into new public policies.

Learn more about the issues involved and what MedPAC commissioners think about them in the MedPage Today article “Should Medicare Pay the Same Amount Regardless of Where a Service Is Provided?”