Covid-Battered Hospitals Get $3.5 Billion From Medicare in 2021

Medicare payments for inpatient hospital services will increase by $3.5 billion, or 2.7%, in fiscal year 2021, the Trump administration announced Wednesday.

The payment boost is significantly more than the estimated $2.1 billion, 1.6% payment bump that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services first proposed in May.

For hospitals that were hammered by a halt in elective procedures and non-emergency surgeries during the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate hike will be welcome news.

But Medicare payments to long-term care hospitals will fall by nearly $40 million in fiscal year 2021, according to the rule, which updates Medicare hospital payment ...