Improving Accuracy of Medicare Payment Geographic Adjustments – IOM Report Releases July 17

Adjustments to Medicare payments based on geography are intended to account for regional variations in wages, rents, and other costs incurred by hospitals and individual health care practitioners.  In a first phase report, the Institute of Medicine recommended changes to the data sources and methods used to calculate these payment adjustments to achieve greater accuracy.  Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payment, Phase II: Implications for Access, Quality, and Efficiency, the second report from the study, assesses the potential effects of these proposed changes.  It also discusses ways to achieve larger goals such as ensuring access to providers and achieving high-quality care.

DETAILS:

Advance copies will be available to reporters only beginning at 4 p.m. EDT Monday, July 16.  The report is embargoed and not for public release before 1 p.m. EDT on July 17. Members of the expert committee that wrote the report will discuss their findings and recommendations at a public briefing beginning at 1 p.m. EDT on July 17 in the Murrow Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. Those who cannot attend may watch a live video webcast and submit questions via an email link that will be available at http://www.national-academies.org.

Reporters: To obtain an embargoed copy and register for the public briefing, contact the National Academies’ Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.