Becker's Healthcare March 14, 2025
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is recommending Congress increase Medicare base payment rates for general acute care hospitals by the amount specified in current law, plus 1% in 2026, according to its March 2025 report to legislators.
MedPAC is also recommending Congress redistribute existing disproportionate-share-hospital and uncompensated-care payments through the Medicare Safety-Net Index and add $4 billion to the MSNI pool.
“The MSNI funds would be distributed to hospitals across their (fee-for-service) and Medicare Advantage patients,” the group of Medicare policy experts wrote. “This recommendation would better target limited Medicare resources toward those hospitals that are key sources of care for low-income Medicare beneficiaries and are facing financial challenges.”
MedPAC said that in 2023, fee-for-service Medicare payment adequacy...