Physicians should be paid for the time they spend counseling Medicare patients on end-of-life matters, according to several dozen members of Congress.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and 33 other House members have written to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urging the agency to adopt new CPT codes created by the American Medical Association’s Relative Value Update Committee. The codes – 99497 and 99498 – would reimburse physicians for discussing advance care planning.
Courtesy of Rep. Blumenauer
Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Code 99497 would be used for advance care planning, including the explanation and discussion of advance directives, such as standard forms (with completion of such forms, when performed), by the physician or other qualified health care professional, and would cover the first 30 minutes, face to face with the patient, family member(s), and/or surrogate. Code 99498 would be employed for each additional 30 minutes of counseling.
The codes are included the 2015 CPT code set and can be used as of Jan. 1, if they are accepted and published in the Medicare physician fee schedule. The fee schedule is scheduled to be published by Nov. 1.
“Patients who wish to make clear their goals, values, and wishes through discussions with their trusted providers should have the opportunity to do so,” Rep. Blumenauer said in a statement. “In order to have these conversations, providers must have the adequate time, space, and reimbursement to conduct the complex and time-consuming discussions necessary to learn about the goals and values held by their patients and plan appropriately for their care.”
The Institute of Medicine also recently issued a report that called for reimbursement for physicians who talk to their patients about end-of-life issues.
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