The American Hospital Association has raised concerns about CMS' proposed outpatient hospital payment update of "only 2.8 percent" as the industry continues to battle persistent financial headwinds.
The proposed rule would pay acute care hospitals $88.6 billion for outpatient services in 2024, 2.8 percent more than this year, according to Bloomberg Law. Medicare payments for hospital outpatient departments would increase by $6 billion in 2024 while Medicare ASC payments would total $6 billion.
"Most hospitals across the country continue to operate on negative or very thin margins that make providing care and investing in their workforce very challenging day to day," AHA Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes said July 13. "Without a more robust payment update in the final rule, hospitals' and health systems' ability to continue caring for patients and providing essential services for their communities may be jeopardized."