The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), which advises Congress on Medicare policy, recommended a 1% base rate increase above current law to both hospital inpatient services and outpatient services for 2026. With that increase, the overall increase would be 4.6% based on the current projected hospital market basket increase of 3.6% for 2026. Analysts at Macquarie Capital noted that a hospital rate increase would have a positive impact on ambulatory surgery centers, including … [Read more...]