Take Quality into Account in Medicare Payments

Congressman Kind has circulated a letter that has garnered wide spread bi-partisan support highlighting how Wisconsin and  other  high quality low cost states are penalized in the current medicare reimbursement system.

Wisconsin providers deliver higher quality at a lower price compared to many other parts of the country. There is a simple way to save Medicare money and no hurt beneficiaries:  take quality (outcomes and per capita cost) into account in Medicare payments. The Congressional Budget office would score it as savings and it would reward Wisconsin for good behavior as well as several other states like Oregon, Minnesota, and Virginia. This process was begun with a study in the Affordable Care Act  and show be adopted over time in the Medicare reimbursement formula.