Medicare Payment Advisory Commission members are on board with a plan to transition to a new Medicare payment system over a two-year span.

The new post-acute payment system would begin in 2019 and merge current payment rates with the advisory panel’s own recommended unified post-acute payment system.

Easing into the new system would allow providers more time to adjust, commissioners said. It also could help correct current biases and improve the equity of payments, they said.

Commissioners approved the plan unanimously on Dec. 7, with a formal vote on the transition plan expected to take place during their January meeting. The new system would be fully in effect in 2021. The incremental shift also would help long-term care beneciaries, commissioners said.