“Podiatrists should not be discriminated against any further. E&M (evaluation and management) requirements are the same as (those for) other providers, and we should be reimbursed justly,” one podiatrist recently wrote, expressing his opposition to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’s) proposed E&M reimbursement changes in the recently posted 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
“If Medicare is going to change E&Ms to only two codes, then all specialists should be changed,” another opined. “All I have to ask is what about optometrists? Why aren't you focused on them as well?”
Reported by RACmonitor, the controversy centers on the proposal by CMS to reimburse new patient visits at a single flat rate for codes 99202-99205 (99201 would be paid at a lower rate), while a corresponding, lower flat rate would apply to established patient visit codes 99212-99215. Code 99211 would also be paid a lower rate. The level 1 codes don’t get the flat rate, because they don’t require the presence of a physician.
Reporting on this developing story on this edition of Monitor Mondays will be Jeffrey D. Lehrman, DPM, diplomate of the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery.
The broadcast rundown also will include:
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