We invite you to join the Alliance to Fight for Health Care for a one-hour virtual informational briefing on Wednesday, February 1, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, How site-neutral payment reform can deliver billions in savings for patients, taxpayers, and the U.S. health care system.

Insured Americans overwhelmingly want policymakers to reduce the cost of health care and address price variations across sites of service, according to a Morning Consult National Poll sponsored by the Alliance to Fight for Health Care. The poll found that insured Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of payment policies in which the price charged for the same health care service varies greatly depending on where the service is provided, with 72% of insured Americans saying the price of health care services should be the same no matter where that service is received.

 

Medicare typically pays higher reimbursements in hospital settings than in physician office settings for the same service. This payment distortion incentivizes hospitals to acquire physician practices and bill Medicare at hospital rates even if the service is performed in a physician’s office. This increases cost-sharing for patients on Medicare and raises costs for taxpayers. To address this distortion and reduce economic incentives for hospitals to continue acquiring physician practices, MedPAC’s June 2022 Report to the Congress: Medicare and Health Care Delivery System includes a chapter dedicated to site-neutral payment reform (Chapter 6: Aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings). This chapter highlights savings opportunities for the Medicare program and beneficiaries.

 

The Alliance to Fight for Health Care supports site-neutral payment reform as a way to decrease Medicare and commercial spending, ensure patients receive the right care in the right setting, and lower taxpayer and beneficiary costs.

 

In our February 1 briefing, a panel of health care experts will discuss the advantages of site-neutral payment reform, along with the preliminary results of a new economic study examining site-neutrality and the potential benefits for patients, employees, employers, and taxpayers. 

 

Speakers include:

• Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA (moderator)

• Gloria Sachdev, president and CEO, Employers’ Forum of Indiana

• Stephen T. Parente, professor of finance and Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair, University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management and Finance

• Patricia Goldsmith, CEO, CancerCare

 

We welcome you to submit any comments and questions in advance. We will also take questions during the briefing.

 

REGISTER HERE

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