MedPAC issues June report to Congress

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on June 15 released its annual June report to Congress, which examines the interplay between the program and specific aspects of the broader health care system such as federally qualified health centers and treatment of dual eligibles. The report also assesses the current Medicare payment systems, including the sustainable growth rate system used to determine physician payments and Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service benefit package, and makes recommendations to improve payment accuracy for in-office ancillary services such as diagnostic imaging.

According the MedPAC, use of such services has increased significantly and reached “high, and possibly inappropriate, levels of utilization.” The report also makes recommendations to alter the program’s technical assistance to providers for quality improvement “to better complement recent payment policy innovations and improve the quality of care beneficiaries receive.”