AANS and CNS Comment on Proposed 2022 Medicare Fee Schedule Payment Provisions

On Sept. 13, the AANS and the CNS submitted detailed comments to CMS regarding the 2022 proposed Medicare PFS rule. In the letter, the neurosurgical societies offered the following recommendations related to the rule’s payment provisions:

• Urged CMS to incorporate the increased evaluation and management code values into the global surgery codes;
• Rejected the proposal to bundle separately reportable critical care services into the underlying global codes;
• Requested that CMS accept the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee values for the new laser interstitial thermal therapy (617X1 and 617X2) and arthrodesis decompression (630XX and 630X1) codes; and
• Supported the proposal to extend flexible telehealth policies.

The AANS and the CNS also joined the Alliance in recommending that CMS take steps to prevent the planned Medicare payment cuts and establish policies that expand access to telehealth and virtual care services.

Click here to read the AANS/CNS letter and here for the Alliance letter.