Berenson, Lazaroff: CMS' E/M Proposal Is Flawed, Should Be Pulled

A former CMS official and a geriatric specialist say CMS, despite good intentions, missed the mark with its proposal to overhaul physician evaluation and management codes, and should pull the proposal and consider basing pay instead on the time physicians spend with beneficiaries. As part of the proposed 2019 Physician Fee Schedule, CMS included a policy to simplify coding and create a single payment amount for doctors' E/M visits. There are five levels of E/M codes currently in use, and...