In an interview, Dr. Wergin said these additions helped, but that the AAFP would like to see at least one more primary care slot, as well as slots for other stakeholders. In a January 2014 letter, the AAFP called on the CMS to correct what the AAFP referred to as “a disturbing trend seen in the recommendations of RUC.” Specifically, the AAFP urged the CMS to address undervalued services, such as office-based evaluation and management (E/M) codes.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent advisory commission to Congress, has also issued several reports questioning the effectiveness of the RUC, including a 2011 white paper that expressed skepticism about the way in which data is collected by the panel. In 2013, MedPAC executive director Mark E. Miller, in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, criticized how the RUC operated.
In the last Congress, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, introduced the Accuracy in Medicare Physician Payment Act of 2013, which would supplement the work of RUC by establishing an expert panel within Medicare to oversee the valuation of physician services and to help correct distortions in the physician fee schedule. The bill was not considered by the House.
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