Congressional Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Recommendation Would MeanHalf Of Medicare Patients Would Pay Home Health Copay Out Of Their Pockets
About Half Of Medicare Patients Would Pay Home Health Copay Out Of Their Pockets if Congress passed a $150 copayment for home health care, almost 55 percent of Medicare beneficiaries would have to pay the new cost out of their pockets, according to a new analysis by Avalere Health. The consulting firm evaluated the impact of a copay for each 60-day home care treatment period. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended in its March report that Congress should direct the Health and Human Services secretary to add a copayment for home health. Commissioners said that adding such a fee would "sensitize" patients to the cost of the benefit, and discussed setting such a copayment at $150.
To view the 227-page MedPAC report to Congress, the news release and a fact sheet, click on the hyperlinks below:
- Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System (June 2011)
- News release: MedPAC releases report on Medicare and the health care delivery system (June 15, 2011)
- Recommendations sheet for MedPAC's Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System (June 2011)
What is MedPAC?
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is an independent Congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33) to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. The Commission's statutory mandate is quite broad: In addition to advising the Congress on payments to private health plans participating in Medicare and providers in Medicare's traditional fee-for-service program, MedPAC is also tasked with analyzing access to care, quality of care, and other issues affecting Medicare.
The Commission's 17 members bring diverse expertise in the financing and delivery of health care services. Commissioners are appointed to three-year terms (subject to renewal) by the Comptroller General and serve part time. Appointments are staggered; the terms of five or six Commissioners expire each year. For more information on the commissioner appointment process, please click here. The Commission is supported by an executive director and a staff of analysts, who typically have backgrounds in economics, health policy, public health, or medicine.
MedPAC meets publicly to discuss policy issues and formulate its recommendations to the Congress. In the course of these meetings, Commissioners consider the results of staff research, presentations by policy experts, and comments from interested parties. (Meeting transcripts are available on this website.) Commission members and staff also seek input on Medicare issues through frequent meetings with individuals interested in the program, including staff from congressional committees and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), health care researchers, health care providers, and beneficiary advocates.
Two reports -- issued in March and June each year -- are the primary outlet for Commission recommendations.
In addition to these reports and others on subjects requested by the Congress, MedPAC advises the Congress through other avenues, including comments on reports and proposed regulations issued by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, testimony, and briefings for congressional staff. 
Next public MedPAC meeting:
September 15 - 16, 2011
Ronald Reagan Building, The International Trade Center
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