Increase in Pathology RVU

[Pathologee]

Did anyone catch this? Just be sure to when you go into the doctors lounge, you walk right on up to the surgeons table and take a little piece of bacon off their tray and eat it right in front of them. Mwahaha.

http://tissuepathology.typepad.com/...jor-increases-in-pathology-rvus-for-2011.html

Via Lab Soft News -- Major Increases in Pathology RVUs for 2011

Major Increases in Pathology RVUs for 2011

Editor's note: Joe Plandowski sent me the following good news about increased reimbursement for pathology for 2011.
We are hearing news on a daily basis about a 25% SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) cut for 2011 and continual cuts in third party payer reimbursements. However, when pathologists and anatomic lab managers wake up in 2011, they will be dancing in the streets. The Medicare fee increases from 2010 to 2011, in the face of a flat SGR, are mind-boggling. Pathology received major changes to its RVUs thanks to a lot of lobbying by organized pathology. Pathologists ought to be quietly celebrating their good fortune because it came out of the hides of other specialists. The following are some examples (w/o geographic adjustments):

• 88112 (non-Gyn cytology) is going to $111.72, a 9.8% increase
• 88305 (tissue diagnosis) is going to $115.04, a 10.6% increase
• 88312 (special stain) is going to $116.15, a 15.8% increase
• 88313 (special stain) is going to $84.81, a 15.6% increase
• 88342 (IHC) is going to $113.20, a 12.9% increase

I can't remember ever seeing such large percentage increases. And, these increases are coming at a time of fiscal restraint in medicine. Wait for the howling to begin as this news spreads. If pathologists thought they had a tough time with clinicians, it just got tougher. Particularly so, when clinicians discover those increases came directly out of their pockets.


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[KeratinPearls]

Did anyone catch this? Just be sure to when you go into the doctors lounge, you walk right on up to the surgeons table and take a little piece of bacon off their tray and eat it right in front of them. Mwahaha.

http://tissuepathology.typepad.com/...jor-increases-in-pathology-rvus-for-2011.html

Via Lab Soft News -- Major Increases in Pathology RVUs for 2011

Major Increases in Pathology RVUs for 2011

Editor's note: Joe Plandowski sent me the following good news about increased reimbursement for pathology for 2011.
We are hearing news on a daily basis about a 25% SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) cut for 2011 and continual cuts in third party payer reimbursements. However, when pathologists and anatomic lab managers wake up in 2011, they will be dancing in the streets. The Medicare fee increases from 2010 to 2011, in the face of a flat SGR, are mind-boggling. Pathology received major changes to its RVUs thanks to a lot of lobbying by organized pathology. Pathologists ought to be quietly celebrating their good fortune because it came out of the hides of other specialists. The following are some examples (w/o geographic adjustments):

• 88112 (non-Gyn cytology) is going to $111.72, a 9.8% increase
• 88305 (tissue diagnosis) is going to $115.04, a 10.6% increase
• 88312 (special stain) is going to $116.15, a 15.8% increase
• 88313 (special stain) is going to $84.81, a 15.6% increase
• 88342 (IHC) is going to $113.20, a 12.9% increase

I can't remember ever seeing such large percentage increases. And, these increases are coming at a time of fiscal restraint in medicine. Wait for the howling to begin as this news spreads. If pathologists thought they had a tough time with clinicians, it just got tougher. Particularly so, when clinicians discover those increases came directly out of their pockets.



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Good to hear something positive on these boards. So, who is this organized pathology group? I'd like to shake their hands. How does this RVU thing work? Reimbursement decreased for other groups and that was handed over to pathology? How does one lobby for increased reimbursement in Congress?

 

[2121115]

So, who is this organized pathology group? I'd like to shake their hands. How does this RVU thing work? Reimbursement decreased for other groups and that was handed over to pathology? How does one lobby for increased reimbursement in Congress?

The group that does this is CAP.

Did anyone catch this? Just be sure to when you go into the doctors lounge, you walk right on up to the surgeons table and take a little piece of bacon off their tray and eat it right in front of them. Mwahaha.

http://tissuepathology.typepad.com/...jor-increases-in-pathology-rvus-for-2011.html

Via Lab Soft News -- Major Increases in Pathology RVUs for 2011

Major Increases in Pathology RVUs for 2011

Editor's note: Joe Plandowski sent me the following good news about increased reimbursement for pathology for 2011.
We are hearing news on a daily basis about a 25% SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) cut for 2011 and continual cuts in third party payer reimbursements. However, when pathologists and anatomic lab managers wake up in 2011, they will be dancing in the streets. The Medicare fee increases from 2010 to 2011, in the face of a flat SGR, are mind-boggling. Pathology received major changes to its RVUs thanks to a lot of lobbying by organized pathology. Pathologists ought to be quietly celebrating their good fortune because it came out of the hides of other specialists. The following are some examples (w/o geographic adjustments):

• 88112 (non-Gyn cytology) is going to $111.72, a 9.8% increase
• 88305 (tissue diagnosis) is going to $115.04, a 10.6% increase
• 88312 (special stain) is going to $116.15, a 15.8% increase
• 88313 (special stain) is going to $84.81, a 15.6% increase
• 88342 (IHC) is going to $113.20, a 12.9% increase

I can't remember ever seeing such large percentage increases. And, these increases are coming at a time of fiscal restraint in medicine. Wait for the howling to begin as this news spreads. If pathologists thought they had a tough time with clinicians, it just got tougher. Particularly so, when clinicians discover those increases came directly out of their pockets.


​

There must be more to the story here. The 88305 is not getting a 10.6% increase, at least not from the RVU anyway. CAP issued a STATline several months ago stating that the RVUs for high volume surgpath codes (88305, etc) would remain the same in the coming year. See the link below. I'm not sure where those numbers above are coming from.

http://www.cap.org/apps/cap.portal?_nfpb=true&cntvwrPtlt_actionOverride=/portlets/contentViewer/show&_windowLabel=cntvwrPtlt&cntvwrPtlt{actionForm.contentReference}=statline/stat111110.html&_state=maximized&_pageLabel=cntvwr

 

[Pathologee]

The group that does this is CAP.





There must be more to the story here. The 88305 is not getting a 10.6% increase, at least not from the RVU anyway. CAP issued a STATline several months ago stating that the RVUs for high volume surgpath codes (88305, etc) would remain the same in the coming year. See the link below. I'm not sure where those numbers above are coming from.

http://www.cap.org/apps/cap.portal?_nfpb=true&cntvwrPtlt_actionOverride=/portlets/contentViewer/show&_windowLabel=cntvwrPtlt&cntvwrPtlt{actionForm.contentReference}=statline/stat111110.html&_state=maximized&_pageLabel=cntvwr

Well this article appeared in an internet based web blog, so it must be true.

 

[Arctic Char]

yeah . . . i'm remaining skeptical

 

[lipomas]

Is this technical fee, or professional fee, or both? Technical fees need to be cut, not increased. High technical fees, or at least the discrepancy between technical and professional fees, are one of the main reasons these big reference labs and pod labs are getting so common.

 

[Pingu]

RVUs for pathology DID actually increase for 2011, however, the conversion factor decreased from 36.87 to 33.97 due to changes in the MEI.

If the conversion factor had stayed at the 2010 level, then we would have seen the huge increases listed. I haven't run all the numbers, but my preliminary assessment is that pathology reimbursement will stay more or less constant for 2011.