On April 13, 2016 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its sixth annual report on federal fragmentation, overlap and duplication, which included 92 new recommendations for improvements across federal programs and activities.
The report found that Medicare could save billions of dollars if Congress were to equalize the rates Medicare pays for certain health care services, which often vary depending on where the service is performed. This is not a new recommendation. In a December 2015 report the GAO recommended that Congress equalize payment rates between physician offices and hospital outpatient departments for certain services. Nonetheless, GAO’s repeated calls for action increases the likelihood that Congress will act in this direction.
