The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced a reduction in some Medicare payments to hospitals for outpatient services. These reductions are set to take place on January 1, 2019, and will align Medicare hospital reimbursements with payments for the same service performed in a doctor’s office. (here)

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has led a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to halt this so called site-neutral payment policy. (here)

The AHA has supported and lobbied for not only Medicare, but also for Medicaid and Obamacare. (here) The irony is that by supporting these entitlements, the AHA and its member hospitals are at the mercy of bureaucrats to determine what the government will reimburse American hospitals.

The costs of the health care entitlements have exploded and are not financially sustainable without reform. (here) One of the easiest ways to rein in out-of-control spending in the entitlements is through a decrease in provider payments. The AHA lawsuit is understandable, but the tragedy is that the AHA didn’t have the foresight to see this and other payment reductions coming.