MedPage Today April 12, 2024
— Payment codes are underused because “the cost of billing them is itself unprofitable”
Physicians need to be paid better for taking care of chronically ill patients, and they should also be relieved of onerous paperwork burdens such as prior authorizations, senators and witnesses agreed Thursday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
“Medicare Physician Fee Schedule payments have declined by more than 25% over the past two decades, as clinicians continue to face skyrocketing costs for overhead, equipment, supplies, and staffing needs,” said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the committee’s ranking member. “The colossal gap between stagnant fees and steep inflation poses a dire threat to long-term patient access.”
“For many specialists recent regulatory changes have further intensified these issues, as...
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