Agency Seeks Changes in Repaying Hospitals

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed changes in the way it reimburses hospitals owned by companies such as Tenet Healthcare Corp. for the sickest patients to reduce excessive payments.

Under the proposal, the government would be able to review hospitals’ costs and demand that they repay fees called outliers that exceeded the costs of care for the most expensive patients. The agency also would be able to review a patient’s case before paying for care at hospitals with a history of “inappropriate” billing.