The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reviewed Medicare's rural payment (pdf) adequacy in a meeting last Friday, finding the payments sufficient and effective for rural hospitals.
MedPAC determined that although the quality of care is mixed in rural hospital settings, the Medicare margins are higher. Urban hospitals averaged an overall Medicare margin of -4.8 percent in 2010 while rural hospitals adjacent to urban hospitals averaged an overall Medicare margin of -0.9 percent.
The organization also reiterated several guiding principles for rural payments, including targeting providers that are the sole source of care and ensuring that payments are empirically justified.
MedPAC determined that although the quality of care is mixed in rural hospital settings, the Medicare margins are higher. Urban hospitals averaged an overall Medicare margin of -4.8 percent in 2010 while rural hospitals adjacent to urban hospitals averaged an overall Medicare margin of -0.9 percent.
The organization also reiterated several guiding principles for rural payments, including targeting providers that are the sole source of care and ensuring that payments are empirically justified.
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