Summary
A lot of things in life aren’t necessarily zero-sum, but because of the budget neutrality rules CMS has to follow, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is—if someone is getting paid more, someone else is getting paid less.
Just look at these estimated impacts by specialty from the final rule:
If you’re curious about the why and how a non-facility based allergist is getting an 8% improvement, but a facility-based dermatologist is down 14%, HTN welcomed Jeff Davis, former Health and Human Services budget office staffer and now a Director at McDermott+ where he advises clients on regulatory affairs and writes the essential Regs & Eggs newsletter. We talked through the key puts and takes in the fee schedule and what’s next for Medicare’s telehealth program.
Check out the conversation below!
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What we covered:
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Jeff's Background and Experience
01:26 Overview of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
04:12 Budget Neutrality and Payment Factors
07:39 RVU Changes and Efficiency Adjustments
17:14 Practice Expenses and Facility vs. Non-Facility Payments
29:50 Telehealth Policies and Final Thoughts