Implications of Eliminating Medicare's Inpatient Only List

Julia H Song; Patricia L Turner; Thomas C Tsai

doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2025.6067

Implications of Eliminating Medicare's Inpatient Only List

JAMA Surg. 2026 Mar 1;161(3):217-218. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2025.6067.

Authors

Julia H Song^{1

2}, Patricia L Turner³, Thomas C Tsai^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
² Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
³ American College of Surgeons, Chicago, Illinois.

PMID: 41533352
DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2025.6067

No abstract available

Plain language summary

This Viewpoint describes the safety, access, and financial risks of eliminating Medicare’s Inpatient Only list and proposes that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instead strengthen their review process.