MedPAC’s commissioners held their latest public meetings on Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8. The subjects on the meetings’ agenda were:
- reforming physician fee schedule updates and improving the accuracy of payments
- considering the participation bonus for clinicians in advanced alternative payment models
- structural differences between the prescription drug plan and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan markets
- assessing Medicare Advantage provider networks
- Medicare’s coverage limits on stays in freestanding inpatient psychiatric facilities
Go here for summaries of the issues and key points and links to the presentations delivered by MedPAC staff and find a transcript of the two-day session here.
MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving Medicare. While its recommendations are not binding on either Congress or the administration, MedPAC is highly influential in governing circles and its recommendations often find their way into legislation, regulations, and new public policy. MedPAC’s deliberations are especially important to community safety-net hospitals because those providers are so much more dependent on public payers than the typical American hospital.
Find MedPAC’s web page here.
