Spine surgeons uneasy amid CMS's pay drop
By Admin | November 12, 2023
Spine surgeons are unhappy with CMS after plans for 2024 physician pay were revealed last week.
On Nov., 2, CMS released the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System final rules, cutting physician pay 1.25% and lowering the conversion factor 3.4%. The agency opted to cut physician pay despite the Medicare Economic Index increases, which measures medical practice cost inflation. The MEI jumped 4.6% in the last year.
The pay decision has been met with criticism from physician organizations, and spine surgeons see it especially burdensome for independent physicians.
"I believe this will accelerate current trends," said Harel Deutsch, MD, co-director of the Rush Spine Center in Chicago. "Physicians in private practice will not be able to sustain a practice treating Medicare patients. There will be decreased access to care for Medicare patients and generally more treatment through nurse practitioners and physician assistants."
The North American Spine Society is still reviewing the final rule to determine how it will affect spine specialists, according to John Finkenberg, MD, a spine surgeon with Alvarado Specialists of San Diego and member of the NASS board of directors.
Members of the House of Representatives came together earlier this year to develop...(More)
For more info please read, Spine surgeons uneasy amid CMS's pay drop, by Becker's Spine Review
