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Advising the Congress on Medicare issues
MedPAC > Recommendations

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

Influencing quality in traditional Medicare (F)

The Secretary should develop and disseminate consumer-oriented information on quality of care to help beneficiaries compare enrollment options and providers. This information should include geographic area-specific information on the quality of care furnished to beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare and provider-specific information on the quality of care furnished by health care facilities and practitioners participating… Read more »

  • Quality

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (A)

The Secretary should study factors affecting the costs of care of frail beneficiaries and all other Medicare beneficiaries to determine if changes are needed to improve Medicare+Choice claims-based risk adjustment for frail beneficiaries. This study should identify data needed to support improvements in the Medicare+Choice risk adjustment system.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (B)

The Secretary should evaluate the use of partial capitation payment approaches for frail Medicare beneficiaries in specialized and Medicare+Choice plans.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (C)

The Secretary should postpone by at least one year the application of the interim Medicare+Choice risk adjustment system to specialized plans. Plans should be paid using existing payment methods until a risk adjustment or other payment system is developed that adequately pays for care for frail Medicare beneficiaries.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (D)

In the long term, the Secretary should set capitation payments for frail beneficiaries based on their characteristics, not of the type of plan to which they belong.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (E)

Performance measures for programs for frail Medicare beneficiaries should reflect the beneficiaries’ health care needs and special practices for their care.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (F)

The Secretary should include special measures for evaluating and monitoring care for frail Medicare beneficiaries in the Medicare+Choice plan quality measurement and reporting requirements.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)
  • Quality

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (G)

The Secretary should not now limit enrollment into the Program of All-Inclusive care for the Elderly to a particular time of the year.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)

June 1999

Managed care for frail Medicare beneficiaries: payment methods and program standards (H)

The Commission will await results from the Secretary’s demonstration of for-profit entities in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly before making a recommendation on allowing them to participate.

  • Part C (Medicare Advantage)

June 1999

Structuring informed beneficiary choice (A)

The Congress should allow HCFA more administrative flexibility in meeting its obligations to inform beneficiaries by relaxing legislative requirements pertaining to content of consumer information materials and means of dissemination.

  • Quality

June 1999