The Federation of American Hospitals is calling for changes to the Defense Department's Tricare's transition to prospective payment methods, arguing that the current plan could cause a 25 percent cut in payments in the first year alone.

The transition is intended to move Tricare as close as possible to Medicare's prospective-payment system. Tricare has been on the Medicare fee schedule since the early 1990s, so this would be a big change.

FAH is not the only one calling for adjustments in the transition plan to make it gentler for hospitals. Last month 57 senators signed a letter calling for a "robust transition" that covered all services. Currently the only services eligible for higher transitional payments are emergency room and clinic visits.

To learn more about the uproar:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1]

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