MedPAC March 2013 Report to the Congress
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent commission that advises Congress on Medicare policy, has released its March 2013 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy. The report includes MedPAC’s analyses of payment adequacy in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Part D. The Commission recommends no payment update in 2014 for 5 FFS payment systems and a 1% update for hospital inpatient and outpatient. For skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health agencies, MedPAC reiterates previous recommendations calling for an array of reforms including rebasing (lowering the base rate), creating incentives to improve quality, and increasing program integrity. MedPAC also calls for a repeal of the physician fee schedule’s sustainable growth rate (SGR), which dictates payments occupational therapists providing outpatient therapy services.
AOTA staff regularly attend MedPAC public meetings and meet with Commission staff regarding payment policies for therapy services. The next report will be released in June 2013.
March 2013 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy – Entire Report
Fact sheet
