At the January 2018 MACPAC meeting, the Commission discussed a long-term work plan to examine all types of Medicaid payments to hospitals and how they relate to overall Medicaid payment objectives. In order to help the Commission evaluate whether Medicaid payment policies are consistent with the statutory principles of efficiency, economy, quality, and access, the work plan proposed to collect information about hospital payment methods, payment amounts, and outcomes related to payments.
As a starting point for the Commission’s newest work in this area, this presentation focuses on the two broad categories of payments that states make to hospitals: (1) base payments for services and (2) supplemental payments, which are typically made in a lump sum and are not tied to particular services. The presentation provides an overview of base and supplemental payments, examples of these payments, and poses questions for the Commission’s consideration to inform further examination of hospital payment policy.