MedPAC’s commissioners held their latest public meeting on Thursday, December 12 and Friday, December 13. The subjects on the meeting’s agenda were:
- assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: physician and other health professional services
- assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: hospital inpatient and outpatient services; and mandated report on rural emergency hospitals
- assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: skilled nursing facility services
- assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: inpatient rehabilitation facility services
- assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: home health care services
- assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: hospice services
- assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: outpatient dialysis services
In each category, MedPAC its preliminary recommendations for 2026 rates:
- physicians and other health professional services – an increase of 1.3 percent in base rates and another 1.7 percent increase for clinicians who qualify under MedPAC’s previous clinician safety-net recommendation, broken down into a 4.4 percent increase for primary care clinicians and 1.2 percent for all other clinicians
- hospital inpatient and outpatient services – the increase in base rate payments specified under current law plus one percent and the redistribution of current Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) and Medicare DSH uncompensated care payments through MedPAC’s own proposed Medicare Safety-Net Index supplemented with another $4 billion of new federal money
- skilled nursing facilities – a three percent reduction of current rates, which MedPAC believes would have “no adverse effect on access to care”
- inpatient rehabilitation facilities – a seven percent reduction of current base rate payments which MedPAC believes would have “no adverse effect on Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care” but “could increase financial pressure on some providers”
- home health services – a seven percent reduction of Medicare base rate payments, which MedPAC states would have “no adverse effect on access to care”
- hospice services – MedPAC proposes eliminating the 2025 increase in hospice base rates, which it believes would have “no adverse effect on access to care”
- outpatient dialysis services – MedPAC supports the update prescribed in current law, which it believes would have “no adverse effect on access to care
MedPAC’s commissioners will vote on these preliminary Medicare rate recommendations early next year.
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 – including in areas of great importance to community safety-net hospitals and members of the Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals. Find its web page here.
