Senators release framework of site-neutral legislation for hospital outpatient departments 

Senators Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Nov. 1 released a policy framework detailing a plan to impose site-neutral payments on hospitals. Site-neutral payment policies would require Medicare to pay the same rate for services delivered regardless of the care site. Medicare payment rates currently recognize fundamental differences between patient care in hospital outpatient departments compared to other settings.  
 
“Simply put, this framework from Senators Hassan and Cassidy will limit and eliminate critical hospital-based care, resulting in increased wait times and decreased access to care for patients. It is irresponsible to think that clawing back up to $140 billion of Medicare spending for seniors won’t destabilize access to care,” AHA Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes said in a statement. 
 
“Rather than addressing the root causes driving physician acquisitions, this instead proposes dramatic and untenable Medicare cuts, reducing seniors’ access to critical hospital-based care. We urge Congress to address the true drivers of physician acquisitions, which include significant underpayments to providers and persistent delays and denials of care by commercial insurers.” 
 
AHA released earlier this year a myth-versus-fact document pushing back on several claims some organizations continue to make about proposals that would impose additional site-neutral payment reductions for services provided in hospital outpatient departments.