A proposed rule released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week threatens to ignite a political battle among physicians.
CMS’s proposed physician fee schedule for 2021 changes would increase Medicare reimbursement for primary care physicians and some specialists while making significant cuts for surgeons.
Family practitioners, general practitioners, and internists — all primary care fields — would receive boosts of 13%, 8%, and 4%, respectively. Some specialties also do quite well, including oncology, which would receive a 14% increase, and endocrinology, which would get an increase of 17%.
Under the rule, Medicare payments would be cut by 9% for cardiac surgery, 8% for thoracic surgery, 6% for ophthalmology, and 7% for vascular surgery, general surgery, and neurosurgery.
Surgeons aren’t the only ones facing drops in reimbursement. Chiropractors, nurse anesthetists, and physical therapists would see cuts of 10%, 11%, and 9%, respectively.
Primary care groups supported the rule.
The American College of Physicians said it “recognizes the value of cognitive services in providing quality care to patients” and that “Medicare has long undervalued office visit services provided by internal medicine.”
The American College of Surgeons was opposed.
“The middle of a pandemic is no time for cuts to any form of healthcare, yet this proposed rule moves ahead as if nothing has changed,” said Dr. David Hoyt, executive director of the ACS.
