--- title: "Site-Neutral Payment, Definition | MedTech Terms" description: "Medicare payment policy that pays the same amount for a service regardless of whether it is delivered in a hospital outpatient department, ASC, or physician…" lang: en json-ld: | { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "@id": "https://medtechterms.com/terms/site-neutral-payment#term", "name": "Site-Neutral Payment", "description": "Site-neutral payment is the policy principle, partially implemented by Medicare since the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Section 603), that the same outpatient service should be reimbursed at the same rate regardless of setting. Section 603 made off-campus hospital outpatient departments established after November 2, 2015 paid at the lower Medicare Physician Fee Schedule equivalent rate, not the higher OPPS rate. 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[Home](/) 2. / 3. [Terms](/terms) 4. / 5. [Reimbursement](/terms?cat=Reimbursement) 6. / 7. Site-Neutral Payment [All terms](/terms) Reimbursement [Hospital Buyer & Reimbursement](/ecosystems/hospital-buyer) # Site-Neutral Payment Medicare payment policy that pays the same amount for a service regardless of whether it is delivered in a hospital outpatient department, ASC, or physician office. Reviewed by [Christian Espinosa, Founder, Blue Goat Cyber](/authors/christian-espinosa) Last reviewed May 9, 2026 ## Definition Site-neutral payment is the policy principle, partially implemented by Medicare since the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Section 603), that the same outpatient service should be reimbursed at the same rate regardless of setting. Section 603 made off-campus hospital outpatient departments established after November 2, 2015 paid at the lower [Medicare Physician Fee Schedule](/terms/physician-fee-schedule) equivalent rate, not the higher [OPPS](/terms/opps) rate. Multiple subsequent legislative proposals would extend site-neutral payment more broadly. What the regulation says Statutory: Section 603 of the BBA 2015 (codified at 42 USC 1395l(t)(21)). CMS implements through annual [OPPS](/terms/opps) rulemaking. ## What this means in practice Site-neutral expansion is one of the largest swing factors for hospital outpatient economics and for the ASC migration trend; MedTech teams must model both scenarios in their reimbursement analysis. Common pitfalls - • Building a launch case on HOPD rates without modeling site-neutral expansion risk. ## Related terms Grouped by theme ### Editor's picks · Hand-selected related concepts [ Reimbursement ASC Site-of-Service Shift Migration of procedures from hospitals to ambulatory surgery centers. ](/terms/asc-shift)[ Reimbursement Medicare Physician Fee Schedule(MPFS) Medicare's payment system for physician professional services. ](/terms/physician-fee-schedule)[ Reimbursement Outpatient Prospective Payment System(OPPS) Medicare's payment system for hospital outpatient services. ](/terms/opps) ### More in Reimbursement · Same category [ Reimbursement 340B Drug Pricing Program(340B) Federal program providing discounted drugs to safety-net providers. ](/terms/340b)[ Reimbursement Ambulatory Payment Classification(APC) The Medicare grouping system that determines hospital outpatient payment amounts under OPPS, analogous to MS-DRGs for inpatient. ](/terms/apc)[ Reimbursement Budget Impact Model(BIM) Financial model that estimates the total cost consequences of adopting a new technology to a payer's budget over a defined horizon. ](/terms/budget-impact-model)[ Reimbursement Bundled Payment Single payment that covers all services for an episode of care. ](/terms/bundled-payment) Cited by Where this term appears across MedTech Terms. Ecosystems (1) - [Hospital Buyer & Reimbursement](/ecosystems/hospital-buyer) ## Primary references 3 sources Link health: 3 verified · last checked 2026-06-20 CMS· 1 Cornell LII· 1 AMA· 1 1. [1 CMS, Site-Neutral Payments Verified CMS · cms.gov ](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/hospital-outpatient) 2. [2 42 USC 1395l, Payment for outpatient hospital services Verified Cornell LII · law.cornell.edu ](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1395l) 3. [3 AMA CPT Resources Verified AMA · ama-assn.org ](https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/cpt) Inline markers like \[1\] jump to the matching reference above. Sponsor note ### Need cybersecurity expertise on a connected-device launch? Blue Goat Cyber helps MedTech teams ship connected products that hospital security teams will actually procure. [Book a 30-minute discovery session](https://go.bluegoatcyber.com/meetings/blue-goat-cyber/discovery-session) - No obligation - Expert-led from minute one - NDA available on request MedTech Terms is a community resource sponsored by [Blue Goat Cyber](https://bluegoatcyber.com). Definitions are independent of any vendor. On this term Category Reimbursement Sources 3 Updated 5/9/2026 [Compare with another term](/compare?a=site-neutral-payment) Learn in 60 seconds Card Lesson Quiz Medicare payment policy that pays the same amount for a service regardless of whether it is delivered in a hospital outpatient department, ASC, or physician office. - · Site-neutral expansion is one of the largest swing factors for hospital outpatient economics and for the ASC migration trend; MedTech teams must model both scenarios in their reimbursement analysis. - · Section 603 made off-campus hospital outpatient departments established after November 2, 2015 paid at the lower Medicare Physician Fee Schedule equivalent rate, not the higher OPPS rate. - · Multiple subsequent legislative proposals would extend site-neutral payment more broadly. Remember this Watch out: Building a launch case on HOPD rates without modeling site-neutral expansion risk. Related terms - [Outpatient Prospective Payment System(OPPS) ](/terms/opps) - [ASC Site-of-Service Shift ](/terms/asc-shift) - [Medicare Physician Fee Schedule(MPFS) ](/terms/physician-fee-schedule) You may also need Auto-suggested from Reimbursement and shared keywords. - [Ambulatory Payment Classification(APC) ](/terms/apc) - [MS-DRG(MS-DRG) ](/terms/ms-drg) - [Inpatient Prospective Payment System(IPPS) ](/terms/ipps) - [LCD and NCD ](/terms/lcd-ncd) - [Transitional Pass-Through Payment(TPT) ](/terms/tpt) - [Bundled Payment ](/terms/bundled-payment) [All Reimbursement terms](/terms?cat=Reimbursement) MedTech Terms An authoritative, plain-language reference for the regulatory, quality, cybersecurity, and software terms that shape modern medical devices. Browse - [All terms](/terms) - [A–Z index](/a-z) - [Categories](/categories) - [Ecosystems](/ecosystems) - [Learning paths](/paths) - [Compare terms](/compare) - [Quiz](/quiz) Resources - [FDA Medical Devices](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices) - [EU MDR](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/745/oj) - [IMDRF](https://www.imdrf.org/) - [Methodology](/methodology) - [Changelog](/changelog) - [Editor: Christian Espinosa](/authors/christian-espinosa) - [About this site](/about) © 2026 MedTech Terms. Reference content for educational purposes - not regulatory advice. A community resource sponsored by [Blue Goat Cyber](https://bluegoatcyber.com)