PHYSICIANS: GAO- Expense Indices Don't Always Reflect Real Costs
Old wage data throws off calculations.If you are a physician frustrated by the geographic practice cost indices (GPCIs), a March 11 Government Accountability Office report won't do much to help.The three GPCIs - practice expense, physician work and the malpractice expense - lower fees for private medical practices in areas where costs are below the national average.
GAO Also Refutes 'Incomplete' Malpractice Data
According to "Geographic Adjustment of Medicare Fees" (GAO-05-119), the GPCIs are not truly effective because the wage data used in the work and practice expense GPCIs are not current, and the data used in...
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