Agreement Reached to Address Medicare Reimbursement Disparity
An agreement was reached this week to address the regional disparity issue in Medicare reimbursement payments to physicians and health care facilities that has hurt Washington state and other states with lower cost, high quality health care systems. This agreement, passed in the health care reform legislation, will boost funding to reduce the inequities in the Medicare reimbursement rates. In addition, the agreement includes a commitment from the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate ways to shift from the traditional “fee for service” system.
As the News Tribune reports, “the Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors and hospitals in Washington state have been among the lowest in the nation. The formulas discriminate against states such as Washington, whose health care delivery systems are high-quality and low-cost, and is slanted toward states where doctors and hospitals are inefficient and quick to prescribe additional tests and procedures.”
Congressman Dicks has been committed to pushing for these changes throughout the past year.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/22/1118929/state-gets-white-house-promise.html
