Deciphering the Dollars: Advanced Medicare Cost Reporting and Appeals Strategies for 2026

Greg Etzel, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, and Eric Lucas, Managing Director, Baker Tilly, discuss the latest trends and developments related to Medicare cost reporting and appeals. They cover why the Medicare cost report still matters and how it has changed over the years, recent litigation surrounding the cost report, how the wage index impacts hospital reimbursement, issues related to CMS’ low wage index policy and 1985 budget neutrality adjustment, the biggest procedural traps f...