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Key MACRA changes highlighted
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is in its fifth calendar year, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to publish rule changes annually. CMS has limited the changes for 2021 Merit-based Incentive Payment System…
SVS PAC recaps 2020, offers goals for 2021
It is difficult to put 2020 into words. However, despite everything bad that has gone on in the U.S. and nationally, the SVS PAC was lucky to have some successes. At the beginning of 2020, the PAC was losing ground…
How to succeed in vascular surgery: A guide for the aspiring outlier
Disclaimer: The views expressed here do not reflect those of Mayo Clinic, the Society for Vascular Surgery, Vascular Specialist, or even the author, for that matter. It’s satirical—everybody relax. Our recent paper, “Practice patterns of vascular surgery’s ‘1%’” created a…
Democrats take control with Biden presidency, majorities in both chambers
Democratic victories for Georgia’s two Senate seats in the runoff election Jan. 5 have solidified the Democrats’ control of the federal government for the next two years. The victories by Democrats Rev. Raphael Warnock over incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler and…
Fempop atherectomy: Are high reimbursement amounts incentivizing inappropriate medical provider care?
Reimbursement-per-procedure for femoropopliteal atherectomy and stenting has increased at about the same rate for national providers as a whole and vascular surgeons specifically—at the same time as much higher rates were recorded for radiologists and general surgeons, an analysis of…
‘Inordinate amount’ of vascular surgery’s Medicare payments go to narrow group, study finds
Just 1% of vascular surgeons receive “an inordinate amount” of the total Medicare payments that flow toward the specialty, with disproportionate use of outpatient atherectomy among a small number of providers raising concerns on appropriateness and overutilization, an investigation of…
Target 2021: SVS councils and committees drill down on key goals for year ahead (Part 3)
While there is little doubt the pandemic has impacted each vascular surgeon and the SVS as a Society in numerous ways, the commitment and dedication of SVS committee, council and task force members to deliver on the mission has remained…
Medicare cuts: Avoiding the ‘tragedy of the unprepared’
*The January 2021 issue of Vascular Specialist, which contained this story, went to press prior to the news that Congress had moved to halt cuts to Medicare. At the conclusion of a challenging 2020, we at the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS)…
Outpatient evaluation and management codes extensively revised
For the first time since 1992, office/outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes have been extensively revised. As of Jan. 1, the lowest level new patient visit code 99201 will be deleted, and the remaining new patient…
Congress delays steep Medicare payment cuts
Both the House of Representatives and Senate have approved legislation to delay steep cuts to Medicare that were set to take effect Jan. 1, 2021. It is anticipated President Donald Trump will eventually sign the bill; however, if it is…