Budgeting
Organizations pledging include two of the five largest private health systems, Ascension and CommonSpirit Health.
CMS is proposing to apply a permanent 5% cap on decreases in the wage index.
The rule proposes a permanent 5% cap on negative wage index changes, regardless of the underlying reason for the decrease.
Plus, Medicare and Social Security are facing long-term financing shortfalls under currently scheduled benefits and financing.
These rebates are larger than those issued in most prior years, but they fall short of the record-high rebate amounts of 2020 and 2021.
Enrollment growth was strong in Medicaid and Medicare Advantage, but was partly offset by increased medical costs.
Overall expenses were $2.96 billion for the quarter, an increase from the $2.56 billion in expenses posted in Q1 2021.
While many avoid care due to costs, there has been an uptick in the percentage of patients who have access to health plan transparency tools.
In 2020, Kaiser Permanente achieved carbon neutrality.
When averaged out, the figure comes to 224% above Medicare rates for all employers and private insurers, down from 2018.