Allergy: Get the skinny on payment changes that affect popular allergy services

Why This Topic Matters

These proposed fee schedule revisions could change reimbursement for high-volume allergy services and influence billing and revenue planning for practices that rely on Medicare payment.

Article Sections

1. Proposed 2006 payment changes for common allergy services

   Overview of the Medicare physician fee schedule proposal and its effect on frequently billed allergy testing and treatment services. The section frames the payment update as a mix of increases and decreases across commonly used services.

2. The increases

   Discussion of which allergy-related services were projected to see payment increases under the proposed schedule. The section summarizes the broader pattern behind the upward adjustments.

3. Code 95015 would get corrected to include expenses for venoms, not antigens

   Explanation of a proposed correction to the practice expense valuation for one allergy testing service. The section describes the policy reason for the adjustment and its estimated payment impact.