Medicare Hcfa Can Improve Methods for Revising Physician Practice Expense Payments

Summary: This report evaluates the Health Care Financing Admin. (HCFA) proposed practice expense revisions & also includes information on HCFA's ongoing efforts to refine its data & methodologies. Specifically, it focuses on (1) HCFA's approach for estimating the practice expenses directly associated with each medical service or procedure; (2) 2 methodologies HCFA used to adjust the direct expense estimates; (3) practice expe...nses excluded or limited by HCFA; (4) HCFA's method for assigning indirect practice expenses to each medical service or procedure; & (5) the potential impact of the new fee schedule allowances on beneficiary access to care. [read more]