Radiologists and other physicians are concerned that the variance of conversion factors could pit doctors against one another ...and the job of keeping track of these changes to anticipate payment amounts is yet a another issue...not to mention additional coding functionality changes as multiple conversion factors enter the picture. BD
Washington -- If House lawmakers have their way, the extent to which physicians see their Medicare payment rates rise or fall year by year would depend even more on what types of services they provide. A provision in the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007, which the House passed Aug. 1, would alter the sustainable growth rate formula by establishing six separate categories for physician services. The categories would consist of primary care and preventive services; other evaluation and management services; major procedures; anesthesia services; imaging services; and minor procedures and all other services not falling into another category.
The American College of Radiology and the Society of Interventional Radiology are especially concerned, because the imaging category in particular would likely see major rate reductions under the six-category plan. All physicians who provide imaging services would be affected by the service category plan. Radiologists in particular would be powerless to prevent payment cuts by limiting utilization, Dr. Moore said. That's because primary care physicians and other referring doctors generally are the ones who control how many patients are sent to the specialists to receive scans.
So when Medicare updates its rates at the beginning of a calendar year, for instance, the rate for an office visit might change by a different percentage from the rate for an imaging scan.
AMNews: Sept. 10, 2007. House bill creates 6 Medicare payment categories ... American Medical News
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