On January 4, 2024, Paragon’s Joe Albanese, and his recent research Escaping from Medicare’s Flawed Physician Payment System, were referenced in the Heartland Daily News article “Medicare Cuts Physician Reimbursements”
From the article:
The dissatisfaction in Medicare’s reimbursement setting by doctors presents an opportunity for reform argues a Paragon Health Institute report by Senior Policy Analyst Joe Albanese, published in December.
The paper notes Medicare’s payment policies have done a good job containing costs, but expenditures can rise over time due to an increase in the volume of physician services and Part B spending.
“Physician payment in Medicare continues to rely on a fee-for-service approach that incentivizes quantity of care over quality and administrative pricing that misestimates the value of health care services,” wrote Albanese.
The goal is to have a balanced approach where physician payments account for the costs of providing care, but patient expenses and government spending are under control, Albanese told Health Care News.
“Some policymakers propose adjusting rates for inflation using the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), but this could lead to excessive cost growth,” said Albanese. “It would be better to apply only a portion of the MEI and to pair this with other reforms. The most basic would be to offset higher spending by reducing Medicare overpayments in areas like outpatient hospital services and Part B drugs.”
