The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has issued its June report to Congress, offering recommendations on refinements to Medicare payment systems and issues affecting the Medicare program.
In its 10-chapter report, MedPAC recommends:
- Moving to a unified PAC prospective payment system (PPS) that spans the four settings—with payments based on patient characteristics rather than the site of service—and supports the implementation of a PAC PPS in the near term.
- A series of regulatory and market-based reforms—both short and long term—to improve Medicare payment for Part B drugs.
- Using premium support in Medicare, in which the government would pay a fixed dollar amount for each beneficiary’s Medicare coverage.
- Redesigning the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and strengthening advanced alternative payment models (A–APMs).
- Expanding the Open Payments program, which has increased the transparency of financial interactions between manufacturers and physicians and teaching hospitals and should be expanded.
MedPAC reports, which are issued in March and June of each year, are mandated by the Congress and contain analysis of the Medicare program and recommendations as warranted.
