Special Report on 2004 fee schedule

Why This Topic Matters

The annual fee schedule affects how many physician and related services are paid under Medicare, so understanding the broad scope of changes helps organizations evaluate reimbursement, compliance, and billing workflow impacts for the new year.

Article Sections

1. Overview and key fee schedule metrics

   Provides the article’s overall context and summarizes the major Medicare physician fee schedule measures discussed for 2004, including broad payment updates and timing of implementation.

2. Work RVUs

   Covers selected work relative value unit updates, committee recommendations, and related specialty-driven revisions affecting physician services.

3. Practice expense RVUs

   Summarizes practice expense-related changes, including data updates, survey timing, and service-specific revisions affecting payment calculations.

4. Miscellaneous

   Includes additional CMS policy topics such as ESRD payment, family visit policy, diabetes training criteria, comment-period issues, outpatient therapy, and physician self-referral updates.

5. Anesthesia and pain management

   Reviews anesthesia-specific fee schedule updates, teaching-related policy changes, review activity, and selected pain management payment changes for 2004.