Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
A neurologist meets with a Medicare patient. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
Physicians have inundated the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services with comments in a bid to kill a major change to how they would get paid for routine patient visits.
Where it stands: Medicare wants to create a new, fixed payment rate next year for all office visits, regardless of how much time physicians spend with the patient or how sick the patient is.
- For most new patients, doctors would get paid $135 for an office visit (compared with the current range of $76-$211, depending on the visit’s medical code).
- For returning patients, doctors would get paid $93 (compared with the current range of $45-$148).
- Some codes could be added to account for complex visits.
What they're saying: Pretty much every state and national physician group (including the American Medical Association) hates the proposal and wants it dead. Doctors who would lose the most money, such as oncologists and neurologists, were the most vocal.
Between the lines: CMS has wanted to change payments to office visits for many years now, citing how they are prone to fraud and abuse. This proposal would benefit some doctors at the expense of others (welcome again to the world of trade-offs). Don't be surprised if Medicare officials spike the proposal when a final rule comes out in November, given the huge backlash.