Medicare group issues hospital efficiency recommendations

How can we improve hospital efficiency? Well, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, it would help if Medicare established a checks-and-balances system that encourages providers to collaborate and coordinate care. MedPAC would like to see Congress direct HHS to reduce payments to hospitals with comparatively high readmission rates for certain conditions. It also would distribute the impact of these results between doctors and hospitals.

MedPAC also is asking HHS to test different payment options, including virtual bundling, which cuts payments to doctors and hospitals that use more resources for certain key conditions. However, the commission would want HHS to pilot-test this approach, as members think it may be too complex to implement.

To learn more about MedPAC's recommendations:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece

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