Inpatient Reimbursement

Hospital Costs for Inpatient COVID-19 Treatment Rose 26% During Pandemic

January 5, 2024 - The costs of providing inpatient COVID-19 treatment increased by 26 percent over the first two years of the pandemic, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Through the end of 2022, there were more than 660 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 6.7 million deaths worldwide, with one in seven of these events occurring in the United States....

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How Did Commercial Payments for COVID-19 Inpatient Stays Vary in 2020?

by Victoria Bailey

Commercial payments for inpatient stays associated with COVID-19 in 2020 were higher for health system-affiliated and high-quality hospitals, a study published in JAMA Health Forum found. When the...

Lower Payment Rates May Help Curb Medicare Spending on Post-Acute Care

by Victoria Bailey

As Medicare Part A is expected to become insolvent by 2033, Congress should reduce Medicare spending on post-acute care by lowering payment rates to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), home healthcare...

Hospitals with Health Equity Factors Face Value-Based Penalties

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospitals with more medically complex patients, uncompensated care, and patients who live alone are more likely to receive a penalty under CMS value-based payment programs, according to a new study...

AHA Decries Inpatient Prospective Payment System Update

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The proposed market basket update in the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) for the 2024 fiscal year (FY) is “woefully inadequate,” according to the American Hospital Association...

CMS Releases FY24 IPPS Proposed Rule, Seeks to Boost Rates by 2.8%

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS has released a proposed rule for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS). The proposed rule would update hospital payment rates by 2.8 percent next fiscal year and...

AHA Urges MedPAC to Consider Higher Medicare Payment Updates for 2024

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has asked the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to consider higher Medicare payment updates before issuing its final recommendations, including...

Hospital Reimbursement Boosts Access to Birth Control Postpartum

by Jacqueline LaPointe

A new study recently published in JAMA Network Open indicates that hospital reimbursement for immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) leads to greater access to birth control...

CMS Releases FY23 IPPS Rule, Boosts Hospital Reimbursement by 4.3%

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS has released the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule for fiscal year (FY) 2023, increasing hospital reimbursement by 4.3 percent and making good on promises to advance health equity....

Hospitals Press CMS to Rethink Proposed FY23 Medicare IPPS Rates

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Medicare inpatient reimbursement cuts slated to take effect in the 2023 fiscal year would threaten access to care at hospitals, which are already facing substantially higher costs because of the...

AHA Responds to Proposed FY23 Hospital IPPS Payment Updates

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has asked CMS to make several adjustments to the proposed Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) payment updates for fiscal year 2023, including...

AHA Calls for Changes to FY23 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has asked CMS to adjust the final Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) rule for FY 2023, noting concerns about the proposed...

CMS Releases FY23 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS Proposed Rule

by Victoria Bailey

CMS has released its proposed Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) rule for FY 2023, which included an increase in IRF payment rates and updates on the IRF Quality...

MedPAC Recommends Hospital Reimbursement Increase

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) has voted to recommend increases to hospital reimbursement for both inpatient and outpatient services in fiscal year (FY) 2023. MedPAC convened...

IPPS Final Rule Bumps Hospital Reimbursement, COVID-19 Rates

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS has finalized an approximate $2.3 billion increase in hospital payments next year, including a 2.5 percent bump for hospital reimbursement rates under Medicare’s Inpatient Prospective Payment...

CMS Proposes $2.5B IPPS Rate Hike, With Eye on Rural, Health Equity

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS is proposing to increase Medicare hospital inpatient rates by $2.5 billion next fiscal year, in addition to bolstering the rural healthcare workforce and health equity reporting. The rate increase...

CMS Hospital At Home Model Seeks to Boost Capacity During COVID-19

by Jacqueline LaPointe

As many hospitals near capacity during another surge of COVID-19, CMS is allowing some healthcare providers to participate in a new hospital at home program that allows them to deliver acute care...

What Contributes to High US Healthcare Spending?

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Prescription drug prices are contributing to high US healthcare spending, but are not the top driver of costs, according to a recent analysis from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. The analysis...

OIG to Audit Medicare Payments for COVID-19 Discharges

by Jacqueline LaPointe

HHS’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will audit Medicare payments made to hospitals for COVID-19 discharges that qualified for a 20 percent add-on payment under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,...

Closer Look at the Inpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Yesterday, CMS unveiled the highly anticipated Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule for the 2021 fiscal year (FY). Chief among the rule’s updated policies is a 2.9 percent...

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