Medicare’s current reimbursement policy pays higher rates for outpatient services in hospital departments compared to independent physician offices and ambulatory surgical centers. However, with Congress looking to cut health care costs, there is growing bipartisan support for site-neutral payments for these services. This means that Medicare would pay the same amount for a service regardless of where it is provided, which is a change from current policy.
On Monday, June 17 at Noon ET, a panel of experts will be joining Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, to discuss site-neutral payments. The discussion will cover why this has become an issue for policymakers and private payers, how Medicare payments currently operate, proposed changes to the law, and the potential impacts of those changes.
The panelists will include Zack Cooper, Associate Professor at Yale University, Zachary Levinson from KFF’s Project on Hospital Costs, and Ashley Thompson from the American Hospital Association. The virtual Health Wonk Shop series by KFF aims to provide in-depth policy discussions with experts to give greater insights beyond the news headlines.