The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has outlined payment update recommendations for 2027.
Four things to know:
1. For 2027, the chair’s draft recommendation calls for Congress to update 2026 Medicare base payment rates for general acute care hospitals by the amount specified in current law. It also calls for the implementation of the Medicare Safety-Net Index to distribute an additional $1 billion to safety-net hospitals.
2. The draft recommendation also calls for Congress to increase payment rates for physicians and other health professional services by 0.5 percentage points more than current law.
3. MedPAC also recommends Congress reduce the 2027 payment for home health care services by 7%, inpatient rehabilitation facilities by 7%, and skilled nursing facilities by 4%.
4. MedPAC also provided an update on site-neutral payments. In 2023, MedPAC recommended the alignment of patient rates for select services across ambulatory settings “where safe and appropriate.” The commission said the “potential impacts of aligning payment rates are substantial.” The group said it improves incentives by setting payments based on efficient delivery of care and not on setting. It also reduces incentives for providers to consolidate.
In its Dec. 4 report, MedPAC said additional opportunities to expand site-neutral policies include:
- Clinic visits in on-campus hospital outpatient departments.
- Services in excepted off-campus provider-based departments.
