Following a Surgical Care Coalition press release, on June 8, Becker’s ACS published an article titled, “Physicians balk at ‘devastating’ Medicare proposed pay cuts.” The article featured John K. Ratliff, MD, FAANS, a neurosurgeon and chair of the AANS/CNS Washington Committee. In response to the recently released proposed 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, Dr. Ratliff stated, “Once again, we are facing another year of devastating cuts to a Medicare system that is already ill-equipped to meet the needs of millions of Americans.”
On July 15, MedPage Today published an article titled, “Medicare’s Proposed Physician Fee Schedule a Mixed Bag, Doc Groups Say.” The piece highlights Dr. Ratliff’s concern that the proposed 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule does not properly value post-operative visits that surgeons provide during the global surgery period. Dr. Ratliff noted that the “non-surgeon is getting more reimbursement for the follow-up visit than a proceduralist would for the same work being done during the global period.”
