The 1.0 percent net update, which will be in the MedPAC report to Congress on March 15, represents a 2.5 percent update minus 1.5 percent for a documentation and coding offset.
MedPAC will also ask Congress to direct HHS to fully recover all overpayments having to do with documentation and coding, not just for the overpayments in fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
Turning to other providers, the advisory panel will be recommending a 1.0 percent update for hospital outpatient services and physician payments and a 0.5 percent update for ambulatory surgery centers.
Responding to MedPAC’s recommendations, the AHA said the documentation and coding adjustment for inpatient payments is set too high, but it agrees that the productivity cut should be removed. It said the full update for outpatient services was warranted because Medicare margins in these areas were unsustainable at -10.8% in 2009.
Read the AHA News Now report on hospital reimbursements.
Read more coverage of MedPAC:
– MedPac Report Finds Medicare Spending by Region Varies by 30%
– MedPAC Considers 1% Payment Update for Hospitals in 2012
– MedPAC Warns of HMO-Like Backlash to ACOs
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