According to the Kaiser Network, MedPAC has recommended reducing Medicare reimbursements to home health agencies by 5.5 percent from FY 2009 levels and increasing payments to long term care hospitals and dialysis centers.
MedPAC, which advises Congress on Medicare issues, will send a report to the legislative body in March. The report will also contain a recommendation to change home health agency reimbursement rates in 2011 “to account for the average cost of care, develop studies to determine which payment measures would ensure the quality of services provided to Medicare beneficiaries and establish incentives for delivery of such services.”
Skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehab centers will see a payment freeze, and primary care physicians would see a 1.1 percent Medicare reimbursement increase in FY 2010.
