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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
Inpatient rehabilitation facility services For fiscal year 2021, the Congress should reduce the fiscal year 2020 Medicare base payment rate for inpatient rehabilitation facilities by 5 percent. Additionally, the Commission reiterates its March 2016 recommendations on the inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system.	Post-acute care	March 2020
Long-term care hospital services For fiscal year 2021, the Secretary should increase the fiscal year 2020 Medicare base payment rates for long-term care hospitals by 2 percent.	Post-acute care	March 2020
Skilled nursing facility services For fiscal year 2021, the Congress should eliminate the update to the fiscal year 2020 Medicare base payment rates for skilled nursing facilities.	Post-acute care	March 2020
Home health care services For 2020, the Congress should reduce the calendar year 2019 Medicare base payment rate for home health agencies by 5 percent.	Post-acute care	March 2019
Hospice services For 2020, the Congress should reduce the fiscal year 2019 Medicare base payment rates for hospice providers by 2 percent.	Post-acute care	March 2019
Inpatient rehabilitation facility services For 2020, the Congress should reduce the fiscal year 2019 Medicare base payment rate for inpatient rehabilitation facilities by 5 percent. Additionally, the Commission reiterates its March 2016 recommendations on the inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system.	Post-acute care	March 2019
Long-term care hospital services For 2020, the Secretary should increase the fiscal year 2019 Medicare base payment rates for long-term care hospitals by 2 percent.	Post-acute care	March 2019
Skilled nursing facility services (1) The Congress should proceed to revise the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system in fiscal year 2020 and should annually recalibrate the relative weights of the case-mix groups to maintain alignment of payments and costs.	Post-acute care	March 2019
Skilled nursing facility services (2) The Congress should eliminate the fiscal year 2020 update to the Medicare base payment rates for skilled nursing facilities.	Post-acute care	March 2019
Home health care services The Congress should reduce Medicare payments to home health agencies by 5 percent in calendar year (CY) 2019 and implement a two-year rebasing of the payment system beginning in CY 2020. The Congress should direct the Secretary to revise the prospective payment system to eliminate the use of therapy visits as a factor in payment… Read more »	Delivery system reforms Post-acute care	March 2018