Report To The Congress: Medicare Payment Policy (March 2014)

In March 2014, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC)—an independent congressional agency established to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program—issued its bi-annual mandated report. The report: 1. Provides a broader context for the report by documenting Medicare and total health care spending and their impacts on federal spending; 2. Describes the Commission’s analytical framework for assessing payment adequacy; 3. Describes the Commission’s recommendations on fee-for-service (FFS) payment rate updates and related issues, including how to move forward on common patient assessment to better evaluate the cost and outcomes . . .