The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) called for a signifcant payment cut for home health providers in its annual report to Congress on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.
MedPAC had two recommendations regarding home health agencies:
- Congress should reduce the Medicare base payment rate for home health agencies by 5%.
- CMS should require that home health agencies report telehealth services provided during a 30-day period.
“A 5% reduction in 2023 would represent a significant action to address the magnitude of the excess payments embedded in Medicare’s home health payment rates,” states the MedPAC report.
Regarding telehealth, MedPAC stated that collecting information on telehealth use during a period would “ensure that these services are accounted for when analyzing beneficiaries’ use of home health care services.”