Hospitals, Surgery Centers Get Payment Bump Under Medicare Plan

Providers caring for Medicare beneficiaries in hospital outpatient departments will receive a 3.8% payment increase in 2023, or roughly $6.5 billion more than in 2022, the Biden administration reported Tuesday.

Medicare payments to ambulatory surgical centers will also increase 3.8% next year, up $230 million compared with 2022, according to the new final payment rule (RIN 0938-AU82).

The pay hikes will push total Medicare payments to an estimated $86.5 billion for hospital outpatient care next year, while payments to ambulatory surgical centers will reach an estimated $5.3 billion.

Hospitals that don’t meet the Medicare outpatient quality reporting requirements will face ...