Pay for domiciliary and rest home visits rises in 2006, time now considered

Why This Topic Matters

The changes described affect code selection, fee schedule payment, and documentation expectations for common evaluation and procedure services. Readers working in physician billing, orthopedic coding, podiatry, pain management, or Medicare reimbursement will want to know which code families changed and how CMS approached valuation.

Article Sections

1. Overview of 2006 visit code changes

   Introduces the broad update to domiciliary, rest home, and related visit coding for 2006. Summarizes the shift to expanded code families and revised valuation.

2. Time in the new visit descriptors

   Discusses the role of typical time in the revised visit code language. Notes the broader issue of how time references are being handled across code families.

3. Other payment decisions of interest to orthopedic practices

   Reviews additional Medicare valuation updates affecting selected procedure services. Includes brief discussion of concerns raised by practitioners and the use of RVUs in the fee schedule.