The June 2017 annual report is released today and weighs in at the usual 350 pages. Here.
Topics include bundled payments for post-hospitalization care, Part B drug payment issues (e.g. physician office drugs like chemotherapy), use of "premium support" in Medicare, an alternative to current Medicare Advantage, the MIPS/MACRA metrics program, pharma/medtech payments to teaching hospitals, and an "overview of the device industry."
MEDPAC is harsh on the new MIPS metrics system, saying it will not help patients chose better physicians, help physicians improve outcomes, or shift CMS meaningfully toward better value for outcomes. (But, the massive MIPS buro-juggernaut chugs on, here).
The medtech device chapter highlights Medicare's new-inpatient-technology add on payments, of which only 19 of 53 applications have been approved in 15 years, with only about $200M of add-on payments.
(For perspective, note that Medicare Part A is some $300B a year - that's over $3T in 15 years. And the $200M allowed over 15 years was budget-neutral, by skimming a minute percentage off all other Part A payments - the $300B a year - to create $10M or $20M a year in Add-On special payments).DME medtech is mentioned, along with competitive bidding. But the high disincentives to innovation by making new HCPCS DME codes virtually unobtainable is not mentioned.
