Survey of Health Care Providers on Accuracy of Medicare Payments

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts numerous surveys of hospitals and health care providers that are used by the government to make economic decisions that affect the entire medical care system. Key users include CMS, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the U.S. Congress. CMS uses these surveys to adjust Medicare fee-for-service payments each year, affecting approximately $300 billion in payments.

If you’re contacted by BLS, please participate in the survey. Recently, many health care providers didn’t complete the survey, which can reduce the representativeness of the data and increase volatility in estimates. Your participation in these surveys helps address these issues and increase the validity of the data. Participation is voluntary and confidential, and the data are only used for statistical purposes.

More information:

• BLS Survey Respondents webpage
• BLS Confidentiality Pledge and Laws webpage
• CMS Market Basket Data webpage
• BLS Geographic Information webpage: Contact a BLS expert or get information on surveys, data, and reports