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Before the 1992 implementation of the Medicare fee schedule, physician payments were made under the "usual, customary and reasonable" payment model (a "charge-based" payment system). Physician services were largely considered to be misvalued under this system, with evaluation and management services being undervalued and procedures overvalued. [3]
Before RVUs were used, Medicare paid for physician services using "usual, customary and reasonable" rate-setting which led to payment variability. [2]The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 enacted a Medicare fee schedule, and as of 2010 about 7,000 distinct physician services were listed. [2]
The RBRVS for each CPT code is determined using three separate factors: physician work, practice expense, and malpractice expense. The average relative weights of these are: physician work (52%), practice expense (44%), malpractice expense (4%). [2] A method to determine the physician work value was the primary contribution made by the Hsiao study.
If the patient in the previous example had a $5.00 copay, the physician would be paid $45.00 by the insurance company. The physician is then responsible for collecting the out-of-pocket expense from the patient. If the patient had a $500.00 deductible, the contracted amount of $50.00 would not be paid by the insurance company.
Geographic Practice Cost Index is used along with Relative Value Units by Medicare to determine allowable payment amounts for medical procedures. There are multiple GPCIs: Cost of Living, Malpractice, and Practice Cost/Expense.
For dentists, the American Dental Association defines a usual and customary fee as "the fee an individual dentist most frequently charges for a specific dental procedure independent of any contractual agreement. It is always appropriate to modify the fee based on the nature and severity of the condition being treated and by any medical or ...
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Fee-for-service (FFS) is a payment model where services are unbundled and paid for separately. [ 1 ] In health care, it gives an incentive for physicians to provide more treatments because payment is dependent on the quantity of care, rather than quality of care.