The American Medical Association's Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee — the group that makes influential decisions in how physicians are paid by Medicare — has added two spots to represent primary care physicians more, according to an American Medical News report.
The American Geriatrics Society will now have a permanent seat on the Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee, also known as the RUC. Additionally, a rotating seat will be designated for an active primary care physician, according to the report.
The RUC, which is mostly represented by specialists, will now have 31 members. The American Academy of Family Physicians has been consistently advocating to the AMA that more primary care physicians needed to be on the panel in order to adjust how primary care physicians are compensated. Currently, the RUC places a higher value on work done by specialists, and consequently, CMS pays specialists more.
The American Geriatrics Society will now have a permanent seat on the Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee, also known as the RUC. Additionally, a rotating seat will be designated for an active primary care physician, according to the report.
The RUC, which is mostly represented by specialists, will now have 31 members. The American Academy of Family Physicians has been consistently advocating to the AMA that more primary care physicians needed to be on the panel in order to adjust how primary care physicians are compensated. Currently, the RUC places a higher value on work done by specialists, and consequently, CMS pays specialists more.
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