Panel Urges Congress to Up Medicare Payments for Hospitals Only

Only acute-care and long-term care hospitals would see a bump in their Medicare payment rates in 2022 under the formal recommendations of a congressional advisory panel released Monday.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, urged Congress to provide no increases for ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient dialysis facilities, nursing homes, and hospice providers. Physicians and other health professionals would also see no increase under the commission’s recommendations.

The commission, an independent congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, advises Congress on issues related to the Medicare program. Lawmakers may or may not follow the commission’s recommendations, which ...