The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted unanimously Jan. 12 to recommend that Congress cut home health payment rates by 7% in 2024.
The quick vote in the first commission meeting of 2023 followed a similar vote of support for the cut during a longer discussion on home health payment rates at the December meeting.
MedPAC analysts noted Medicare profits for home health providers was at 26% in 2021, while the margin
from all payers was 11.9%. The analysts noted that rising costs without an increase in the Medicare payment rate is expected to bring profits down to around 17% in 2023, but that is still too high for MedPAC.
CMS has already promised a nearly 4% cut in payments in 2024 as the second part of a permanent payment adjustment to resolve what it sees as additional spending under PDGM.