Physical Exams: Will 'Welcome To Medicare' Exams Be A Welcome Addition?

Why This Topic Matters

The article helps readers assess whether the new Medicare exam is operationally and financially practical, and it highlights the coding and payment policy changes that affect how the service may be furnished and billed.

Article Sections

1. CMS response to concerns about the new Medicare exam

   Summarizes physician concerns about the scope and payment for the new Medicare introductory exam and CMS’s response to those concerns.

2. Payment policy and exam workload assumptions

   Covers CMS’s assumptions about the time and work involved in the service and the agency’s approach to revisiting the data.

3. Split coding for the exam and EKG services

   Describes the decision to separate the exam-related EKG components into distinct service codes and the flexibility this creates for outside performance of testing.

4. Medicare Modernization Act authority and provider concerns

   Addresses CMS’s view of its authority under the Medicare Modernization Act and provider concerns about broader spending effects.