Lawmakers urge CMS to abandon proposed Medicare billing change

Lawmakers want the CMS to abandon proposed changes to Medicare billing codes they fear will lead to doctors being underpaid.

“We are concerned that the proposal to consolidate these services devalues the expertise, clinical decision-making, and time of physicians who treat patients with complex conditions,” a bipartisan group of 90 lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to the CMS on Friday.

Lawmakers wrote in the letter that the CMS did not adequately reach out to stakeholders before the proposal went public. Lawmakers want the agency to collaborate with providers to identify new ways to accomplish the CMS’ goals while ensuring that physicians are reimbursed appropriately.

The CMS proposed the change earlier this year as part of its initiative to...