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Commission Recommendations

MedPAC makes recommendations to the Congress and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues affecting the administration of the Medicare program. With its recommendations, the Commission strives to improve the delivery of care, while ensuring financial stability and maximizing value for the program. After extensive analysis and evaluation, our recommendations are discussed and voted on by Commissioners in our public meetings. Recommendations are typically published in two main reports, released in March and June of each year.

Recommendations	Topic(s)	Date
Hospital inpatient and outpatient services The Congress should increase payment rates for the acute inpatient and outpatient prospective payment systems in 2007 by the projected increase in the hospital market basket index less half of the Commission’s expectation for productivity growth.	Hospital	March 2006
Inpatient rehabilitation facility services The Congress should eliminate the update to payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facility services for fiscal year 2007.	Post-acute care	March 2006
Long-term care hospital services The Congress should eliminate the update to payment rates for long-term care hospital services for 2007.	Post-acute care	March 2006
Outpatient dialysis services (1) The Congress should update the composite rate in calendar year 2007 by the projected rate of increase in the end-stage renal disease market basket index less half the Commission’s expectation for productivity growth.	Ambulatory care settings	March 2006
Outpatient dialysis services (2) The Congress should direct the Secretary to: eliminate differences in paying for composite rate services between hospital-based and freestanding dialysis facilities; and combine the base composite rate and the add-on adjustment.	Ambulatory care settings	March 2006
Physician services The Congress should update payments for physician services in 2007 by the projected change in input prices less the Commission’s expectation for productivity growth.	Physicians and other health professionals	March 2006
Reviewing the work relative values of physician fee schedule services (1) The Secretary should establish a standing panel of experts to help CMS identify overvalued services and to review recommendations from the RUC. The group should include members with expertise in health economics and physician payment, as well as members with clinical expertise. The Congress and the Secretary should ensure that this panel has the resources… Read more »	Physicians and other health professionals	March 2006
Reviewing the work relative values of physician fee schedule services (2) The Secretary, in consultation with the expert panel, should initiate the five-year review of services that have experienced substantial changes in length of stay, site of service, volume, practice expense, and other factors that may indicate changes in physician work.	Physicians and other health professionals	March 2006
Reviewing the work relative values of physician fee schedule services (3) In consultation with the expert panel, the Secretary should identify new services likely to experience reductions in value. Those services should be referred to the RUC and reviewed in a time period as specified by the Secretary.	Physicians and other health professionals	March 2006
Reviewing the work relative values of physician fee schedule services (4) To ensure the validity of the physician fee schedule, the Secretary should review all services periodically.	Physicians and other health professionals	March 2006