The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission will meet this Thursday in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of payment issues for Medicare providers. Two topics of interest for the nephrology community include payments for dialysis services and for physicians. Below are brief outlines from MedPAC on these topics. For the complete agenda, visit www.medpac.gov.


MedPAC review of dialysis services

Issue: Are Medicare’s payments for outpatient dialysis services adequate? How should payments be changed in 2010?
       
Key Points: At this meeting, MedPAC will examine information about the adequacy of current aggregate outpatient dialysis payments. Commissioners will look at information about:
1) beneficiaries’ access to care
2) providers’ capacity to furnish care
3) changes in the volume of services
4) quality of dialysis care
5) providers’ access to capital
6) Medicare’s payments and costs in 2009
    
Action: The Commission’s recommendation about updating payments for dialysis services will be included in the March 2009 report.
       
Staff contact:  Nancy Ray (202.220.3723) and Hannah Neprash (202.220.3715)

MedPAC review of payments for physician services
 
In the March 2009 report, the Commission will analyze payment adequacy and updates for physician services
      
Key Points: MedPAC will examine several factors to determine whether Medicare payments for physician services are adequate. These include:
1)     beneficiary access to physician services
2)     private insurer rates compared to Medicare rates
3)     volume growth.
 In their analysis, the Commissioners will also examine how costs are likely to change in 2010 and discuss payment update recommendation. MedPAC will also examine ways to change fee schedule payments for expensive imaging services.
 
 
   
Action: Commissioners should review the findings in preparation for making payment recommendations to Congress.
 
       
Staff Contact: Cristina Boccuti (202.220.3705), Ariel Winter (202.220.3755), and Dan Zabinski (202.220.3722)