MedPAC Releases June Report to Congress
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its June report as mandated by Congress.
In the report, the commission highlighted critical issues related to clinician payments and the promotion of alternative payment models. Key topics included provider networks, prior authorization in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, and evaluating data sources for measuring healthcare use among MA enrollees. MedPAC expresses concern that clinician payments may not keep pace with rising input costs, projecting a 2.3% annual increase while payment rates are set to remain unchanged in 2025. These insights are pivotal for congressional committees working on Medicare physician payment system reforms.
This follows the MedPAC's March Report to Congress, which included a recommendation that Congress update Medicare physician fee schedule payments by half of the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) in 2025.