MedPAC Recommends FFS Benefit Changes

MedPAC's interest in care coordination was touted by the American Medical Association in a statement released Friday. "The AMA is very pleased with the focus on care coordination in the report released today by MedPAC. We are especially pleased the report stresses the need for Medicare to recognize and pay for care coordination services that physicians are already conducting, including telephone calls, patient education and medication management. These services are critical to improving patient outcomes, especially for chronically ill patients."

The statement noted that the AMA has been working through its chronic care coordination workgroup to develop new codes and relative values, which will be available for CMS to consider for implementation on January 1.

The MedPAC report was delivered to the offices of Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner. Although neither has released an official statement about the report, it is generally accepted that no significant action will be taken on the MedPac recommendations until after the November 2012 elections.