This week, we are reviewing the 2019 Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles and reading updates from CMS on proposed payment cuts to hospitals for outpatient services for Medicare patients.
2019 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles | CMS | October 12, 2018
On October 12, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2019 premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts for the Medicare Part A and Part B programs.
The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $185 in 2019, an increase of $2 from the annual deductible $183 in 2018. Premiums and deductibles for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug plans are already finalized and are unaffected by this announcement.
Read the full release on CMS.gov here.
‘Site-Neutral’ Payments? Hospitals unhappy with OPPS 2019 | HealthLeaders | July 26, 2018
In a slate of proposals released late Wednesday afternoon, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed significant cuts to the payment hospitals receive for care they provide to Medicare patients.
The proposals call for Medicare to move away from a system that pays more for a clinic visit in the hospital outpatient setting than in a doctor’s office. The idea is to move to what CMS described as “site neutral payments for clinic visits.”