The maligned group that advises Medicare on physician payments has been frequently targeted by generalist doctors, as well as this blog.
Hold on, says the ACP’s Bob Doherty, who provides some arguments in their defense.
Indeed, the RUC did vote to marginally increase payments to evaluation and management codes, the ones frequently used by primary care doctors. Furthermore, Mr. Doherty brings up a good point, asking if not the RUC, who will decide physician payments? Economists hired by the federal government?
That being said, the group is dominated by specialists, with primary care comprising only three of its 26 members. As Medicare listens to its recommendations the majority of the time, it is clear that specialists have tremendous influence on how doctors are paid, and the major reason why American medicine has become dominated by proceduralists.
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{ 3 comments }
What’s wrong with Federal Gov’t Economists?
They let the profession decide payments and they’ve about to run the guys who’re oriented towards trying the obvious simple treatments first out of business.
Who should decide payments to physicians?
The same people who decide payments to providers of food, jewelry, housing, haircuts, gasoline, manicures, legal advice, accountng advice, furniture, internet services, insurance, clothing, etc.
In case Mr.Doherty is reading, the answer is “the consumer.” Everybody else knew the answer.
-Steve
if the goverment feels it must fix prices, then it needs to figure out what mix of expenditures it want cognitive vs procedural and reorganize the RUC accordingly.
What we have now is a wonderful example of trying to regulate the price of something in some way other than what a reasonable person will pay for it.
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