MedPAC reviews possible new post-acute pay model

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened to review a prototype design that might meet guidelines for Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (the IMPACT Act).

The meetings, lasting yesterday and today, focused on creating a new unified payment system for post-acute care services that reflects the range of services provided with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services new reimbursement model.

The proposed approach calls for two models based on service provider. Patients in skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term care hospitals would be covered for non-therapy ancillary services, including ventilator services and drugs. There would be a separate component for home health agency patients, who are not currently reimbursed for those services. Commission staff said the model distinction was driven by a difference in cost, according to a news release from the American Health Association.

The commission’s report on the prototype is due to Congress June 2016.

The commission’s agenda also included sessions about factors affecting variation in Medicare Advantage plan star ratings.


Topics: Medicare/Medicaid