4 new RVU changes would shift pay toward higher-expense specialties

Why This Topic Matters

The proposed changes could alter Medicare reimbursement across specialties by changing the inputs used to calculate payment. Understanding the scope of these updates helps readers assess potential financial impact and track policy changes that may affect practice expense, imaging, surgery, evaluation and management, and other service categories.

Article Sections

1. Overview of proposed payment changes

   Introduces the Medicare payment methodology changes discussed in the article and explains that multiple factors may affect payment calculations at the same time.

2. RVU change: transition to a new practice expense dataset

   Describes the continuing transition to a new survey-based dataset used in relative value unit calculations and notes that the effects vary by service category.

3. RVU change: rebasing the Medicare economic index

   Summarizes a proposed change to the Medicare economic index and its broad effect on the components that drive payment calculations, including its relevance to higher-expense specialties.

4. GPCI change: new methodology for practice expense indices

   Covers the proposed update to the methodology used for practice expense geographic practice cost indexes, including the move to newer wage data sources and a phased implementation.

5. GPCI change: equalizing national and local comparisons

   Explains the additional geographic practice cost index adjustment proposed to align local and national data more closely under health reform requirements.

6. Net impact and related physician fee schedule adjustments

   Notes that other proposed fee schedule rules may offset some of the payment effects and points readers to specialty-level tables in the referenced charts.