Hospital groups weigh in on MIRA

Payments for hospital services would be cut to divert resources to medical technology as a consequence of the "Medicare Innovation Responsiveness Act" of 2003 (HR 941), due to the budget-neutral nature of Medicare, the American Hospital Association and Federation of American Hospitals maintain. In a June 6 letter to bill co-sponsor Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) and other members of the House Ways & Means Committee, the groups add that rural hospitals would be particularly hard-hit because they "are typically the last to adopt technological innovations, largely because there are few specialists and tertiary facilities in rural areas." The committee is evaluating whether to incorporate MIRA into Medicare reform legislation expected to be unveiled in the next several weeks...