Azar and Congress seek to fix Medicare wage index

Modern Healthcare: HHS Secretary Alex Azar told lawmakers they should draft legislation to update and fix the Medicare wage index.

The index, which was created in the 1980s, sets payments to hospitals as adjusted for market conditions, such as the differences in hospital wage rates among labor markets. It also takes into account the cost of living.

Increasingly, rural hospitals in areas where the cost of living tends to be lower cite the index as a reason for closures.

Read article