ASA Advocates on Payment and Quality Matters within CMS Final Rule for the 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

In formal comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS), ASA strongly argues for CMS to allow claims-based reporting for all anesthesia care measures approved for the 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS).  ASA describes the challenges and barriers that physician anesthesiologists will face if CMS allows the claims-based option for only one measure. It is incumbent on CMS to ensure that PQRS reporting systems include mechanisms that permit physician anesthesiologists to meet PQRS criteria now and any Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) requirements in the future. 

ASA also urges CMS to accept the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC) recommended number of  work relative value units (RVUs)  for a new code that describes a continuous paravertebral block (CPT code 64463).  ASA expresses disagreement with the comparisons CMS used to justify its proposal to assign a value to this service that is lower than what the RUC thought appropriate and accurate. 

Read the ASA comments here.