Health Care Cost

The Medicare Part B demonstration has been controversial since its announcement, but Steven D. Pearson, MD, MSc, president of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, considers it a wise move on the part of CMS because it provides an opportunity to learn about different payment structures.

This sweeping proposal is the biggest step yet in shifting reimbursement from a volume-based to a value-based system. Stakeholders offered mixed opinions this week.

One leading expert called the proposal the most substantive change in decades, but some feared CMS is once again hastening the demise of the independent physician.