Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1479222
105 HEALTHCARE NEWS 105 Hospitals in less competitive regions have higher price transparency compliance, study finds By Hayley DeSilva H ospitals in less competitive hospital referral regions and hospital systems with greater market shares are more compliant with CMS' price transparency rules, a study published June 24 in JAMA Health Forum found. The study examined all 4,484 acute care hospitals in the U.S., representing 2,892 hospital systems in 306 referral regions and their level of compliance with CMS' requirement for hospitals to "release the prices they negotiate with insurance plans to make price comparison across hospitals easier for consumers." The study found a strong relationship between level of compliance and the competitiveness of a hospital's region. According to the study, there was "a negative association between compliance and market competitiveness; compliance was higher in less competitive HRRs … and for hospital systems with greater market shares." This relationship remained the same when controlling for the number of beds. The study authors noted one limitation in their findings; by defining compliance as "based on availability of payer- specific negotiated prices," they "omitted other CMS requirements such as availability of a shoppable service tool. A more stringent definition would likely lead to lower measured compliance rates." The Journal of General Internal Medicine published a prior study in June 2021 that found similar results, which continued through the end of 2021, despite a vast increase in compliance overall. n Medicare's physician pay system is 'unsustainable,' trustees say By Patsy Newitt T he current physician payment system is potentially unsustainable in the long term, according to a June report from Medicare trustees to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris. e report said the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, a payment system for Medicare physician fees that replaced the sustainable growth rate formula in 2016, "raises important long-range concerns that will almost certainly need to be addressed by future legislation." e report from the boards of trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance trust funds laid out why the payment system could be unsustainable. ree things to know: 1. Most physicians will face Medicare pay cuts starting in 2025 due to the expiration of the $500 million exceptional performance bonus in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System and 5 percent incentive payment for qualifying Alternative Payment Model participants. e result, the report said, is a payment reduction for most physicians 2. By 2048, the trustees estimate, physician payment rates under MACRA will be lower than they would have been under the sustainable growth formula — about 30 percent lower by end of the period projected. 3. Unless there is a change in the delivery system or level of update by subsequent legislation, the report says, the trustees expect compensation to Medicare-participating physicians to become a "significant issue in the long term." n Image Credit: Adobe Stock