Late breaking news: Proposed physician fee schedule previews new anesthesia codes, revised payments for pain procedures

Why This Topic Matters

Professionals who code or bill anesthesia and pain procedures need to monitor proposed Medicare changes because fee schedule updates can affect code availability, relative value units, and claim reporting requirements. The article flags policy areas that may influence future documentation and reimbursement workflows.

Article Sections

1. Medicare proposed 2018 physician fee schedule overview

   Introduces the timing of the proposed rule and summarizes the scope of the update at a high level.

2. Anesthesia and gastrointestinal procedure code changes

   Reviews proposed changes affecting anesthesia-related procedure coding for gastrointestinal endoscopy services.

3. Pain procedure payment updates

   Summarizes proposed relative value changes affecting selected pain-related procedures.

4. Conversion factors

   Notes the projected Medicare conversion factors for different categories of physician services.

5. History and physical exam under review

   Describes CMS’s planned review of evaluation and management documentation requirements.

6. Patient relationship modifiers

   Highlights the introduction of new claim-reporting modifiers associated with patient relationship reporting.