Today @cmsgov announced another significant cut for electrophysiologists (as well as our interventional colleagues), this time for left atrial appendage closure. Starting in 2026, reimbursement will be cut by 27%. This just a few years after the draconian cardiac ablation cuts.
While industry and hospitals continue to see increases in reimbursement, the physicians are, once again, hung out to dry.
Who helps make these decisions? The @AmerMedicalAssn RUC committee who sends out convoluted surveys that only focus on how long a procedure takes while crosswalking to completely unrelated codes. No intensity, complexity, or long term healthcare savings taken into account. The absolute laziest form of evaluation one could think of to evaluate physician work.
Even worse, those who sit on the RUC committee recommend the 25th percentile to CMS. What kind of physicians find the 25th percentile acceptable in anything we do? A clear cut case of Stockholm Syndrome.
While budget neutrality remains the underlying issue, the AMA RUC needs total reform.
@HeartRhythmAdvo@HRSonline@ACCinTouch@SCAI@DutchRojas