http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2006/05/anthem-is-shortsighted.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:18:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2006/05/anthem-is-shortsighted.html#comment-62809 Anonymous Tue, 09 May 2006 01:24:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2006/05/anthem-is-shortsighted.html#comment-62809 This further illustrates how absurd the current system for E&M reimbursement really is. Doctors are smart. When reimbursement rates are flat and overhead expenses are constantly rising, one of the survival tactics is upcoding and finding a way to increase the documentation needed to justify higher codes. A rheumatologist I know has an EMR that spits out 10 pages of documentation for every follow-up visit. I'm sure she bills 99214 or 99215 for routine 15 minute visits. I'm surprised it took this long for some of the payors to get wise to this. Meanwhile the majority of us honest docs continue to sink deeper into the hole year after year. This further illustrates how absurd the current system for E&M reimbursement really is. Doctors are smart. When reimbursement rates are flat and overhead expenses are constantly rising, one of the survival tactics is upcoding and finding a way to increase the documentation needed to justify higher codes. A rheumatologist I know has an EMR that spits out 10 pages of documentation for every follow-up visit. I’m sure she bills 99214 or 99215 for routine 15 minute visits. I’m surprised it took this long for some of the payors to get wise to this. Meanwhile the majority of us honest docs continue to sink deeper into the hole year after year.

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