Medicare proposes 1.5% fee increase for 2005

Why This Topic Matters

The proposal affects reimbursement expectations, compliance considerations, and operational planning for practices that bill Medicare. It is especially relevant to specialties that rely on anesthesia and pain management payment policies or that may be touched by reassignment and therapy supervision rules.

Article Sections

1. Proposed Medicare payment update and physician fee schedule context

   Introduces the proposed 2005 Medicare physician fee schedule and summarizes the broader payment-update discussion for physician specialties. It also notes concerns about future payment formulas and potential downstream effects.

2. Reassignment provision and related compliance concerns

   Describes proposed implementation of a Medicare reassignment provision under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. It also covers general compliance and oversight topics associated with contractual billing relationships.

3. Other proposed policy changes

   Summarizes additional proposal areas involving outpatient therapy performed incident-to and supervision standards for PT and OT assistants in private practice. The section focuses on the policy areas affected, not on detailed selection rules.

4. Comment period and access to the proposed rule

   Provides general information about the Federal Register publication date, the comment period, and how CMS is accepting comments on the proposed rule. It also references where the proposed schedule could be reviewed.

5. Proposed RVU changes to select pain management codes for Medicare in 2005

   Presents a table of selected pain management services and their proposed relative value unit changes for 2005. The table is included as a summary of code-level payment data.