The American Hospital Association critiqued the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s initial assessment of Medicare Advantage enrollment changes and its effect on hospital finances, according to an Oct. 3 letter from Molly Smith, AHA’s group vice president of public policy.
MedPAC had found no major associations between MA enrollment and hospital profit margins. However, AHA questioned MedPAC’s reliance on all-payer profit margins, data that may not encapsulate administrative intensity and averages of effects across all hospitals as roadblocks to fully representing the issue, according to the association.
“As the commission advances its work, we urge it to refine the analytic approach to address these concerns,” the letter said. “In the absence of appropriate data or mechanisms, which we acknowledge can be incredibly complicated and nuanced, we encourage MedPAC to explore alternative approaches to better understanding these dynamics.”
The AHA suggested that MedPAC should also review plan information, connect the dots on existing hospital financial and MA utilization data, leverage on-the-ground perspectives and assess differences across market and hospital types.
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