In response to proposals regarding the pricing inputs that inform payment rates for care provided to Medicare fee-for-service patients, ACC has submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) addressing a wide variety of services and payment policy proposals in the 2020 proposed physician fee schedule.

The letter urges CMS to finalize recommendations for some services as proposed, like TAVR and blood pressure monitoring, and to revise other proposals in alignment with prior recommendations from the American Medical Association and ACC, such as pericardiocentesis, noncoronary IVUS, EP remote device interrogation and others.

A key feature of the letter is a recommendation that changes to technical component payments for myocardial PET be deferred while additional pricing information and assumptions are reconsidered. Finally, the letter largely supports CMS proposals to adopt most aspects of E/M revisions espoused by the AMA CPT-RUC process.

CMS is expected to release the final physician fee schedule rule by Nov. 2. The ACC continues to meet with policymakers and lawmakers on topics addressed in the rule, particularly to amplify concerns and strongly urge solutions to the aforementioned changes to myocardial PET.

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., American Medical Association, Pericardiocentesis, Blood Pressure, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Fee Schedules, Medicare, Medicaid, Health Expenditures

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