MedPAC Recommends Pay Increase
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended an increase in fee-for-service pay under the physician fee schedule (PFS) for calendar year 2024.
In their yearly report released March 15, 2023, the commission recommended an increase in payments under the PFS payment system by 50 percent of the projected increase in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). Based on current 2024 MEI projections, the recommendation would equate to a 1.45% increase in PFS payments. The commission also recommended this calculated update become permanent and built into subsequent years’ payment rates. This would replace the current laws which are set to increase payment rates by 1.25% in 2024 but then expire at the end of the year.
The report also outlined the commission’s recommendation for a new safety-net policy which would enact a non-budget-neutral add-on payment under the PFS payment system for services provided to low-income Medicare beneficiaries. This add-on payment would not be subject to beneficiary cost sharing and is recommended to equal a clinician’s allowed charges for applicable beneficiaries multiplied by:
- 15 percent for primary care clinicians and
- 5 percent for non-primary care clinicians
The commission believes the safety-net payments to clinicians would encourage the maintenance or improvement of access to care for low-income beneficiaries.
