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MedPAC has released a report outlining several recommendations for Medicare spending in 2010. Some of the items mentioned in the report are as follows:
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Increase payments to primary care providers and decrease payments to private insurers in Medicare Advantage;
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Pay MA plans the same as providers of regular fee-for-service plans and receive higher payments only for better performance;
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Increase payments to physicians by 1.1%;
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Establish a budget neutral payment system giving primary care physicians higher payments and providing medical specialists payments funded by lower Medicare reimbursements;
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Require that manufacturers and distributors of drugs, biologicals, medical devices and supplies publicly report their financial relationships with physicians, physician groups, pharmacists, health plans and other medical professionals and make the information available to the public;
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Require all hospitals and other medical institutions that bill Medicare to send a yearly report on the ownership share of each physician who directly or indirectly owns interest in the institution, and excluding publicly traded trade corporations.
To view the entire MedPAC report go to: http://www.medpac.gov/documents/Mar09_EntireReport.pdf
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