The CMS says doctors tending to tens of millions of chronically ill Medicare patients aren't taking advantage of federal dollars aimed at improving care and reducing hospital readmissions and overall costs.
This year, Medicare began paying an average of $42 per patient per month for non-face-to-face chronic-care management services, such as consulting with other doctors caring for the same patient who might be dealing with dementia, heart disease or arthritis.
The CMS estimates 70% of Medicare beneficiaries—roughly 35 million—would be eligible, but CMS has only received reimbursement requests for 100,000 beneficiaries thus far, Kathy Bryant, a senior technical adviser in the Center for Medicare, said last week at an Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education meeting. She added that even that number may be too high as some could be duplicate claims.
One possible reason for the low interest is that doctors have to get permission from patients who are responsible for a 20% copayment each time their provider bills for the services.
“Getting bills for things when they haven't seen a doctor is not something they are used to,” Bryant said.
Others said the CMS didn't provide enough information on how to properly bill under the codes.
“Physicians are leery about using them because they don't know if they are doing so correctly,” said Regina Mixon Bates, founder and CEO of the Physicians Practice S.O.S. Group, a healthcare consulting and education firm. Another reason could be the lengthy process on electronic health-record systems.
“There is a concern all this documentation, along with their regular workload, is not worth it for the money they would receive,” said Diane Calmus, government affairs and policy manager at the National Rural Health Association. “It's just too many hoops they would have to jump through.”
A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine last month looked at how much chronic-care management could affect the typical primary-care practice.
The study found substantial increases in annual revenue, as much as $77,295 in year one, could be gained if they used registered nurses to conduct annual wellness visits and used other staff to handle more frequent management.
And a study released Tuesday by Smartlink found that less than 20% of 300 physicians interviewed are currently participating in the program. The vast majority of physicians who are participating in the chronic-care management program believe it is improving patient care.
The CMS hopes to raise awareness and interest among providers and beneficiaries, Bryant said.
The APOE suggested targeting nurses and case workers, as they would be the ones who would likely be billing under the codes. The panel also suggested engaging consumers through social media.
Some industry stakeholders believe that could help.
The American Academy of Family Physicians is also performing outreach on the codes, and is highlighting members who have successfully billed under it, according to Dr. Robert Wergin, board chair of the group.
Dr. Andrew Gurman, president-elect of the American Medical Association. said his group is educating medical practices on chronic-care management services, which he calls a “game-changer,” because doctors will be getting reimbursed for services they already provide.
And therein lies another rub, expert say. Many doctors and practices will have to inform patients that the case management they were doing for free will now cost patients a co-pay.
“Some doctors said they were concerned that their patients would be unwilling to pay the cost-sharing,” said Dr. Peter Hollmann, a Pawtucket, R.I., internist and member of the American Geriatric Society Board.
However, he said the biggest likely reason for the slow uptick is that this code is still relatively new.
“There is an expected delay in uptake of new codes, especially when the rules are complicated. This requires that a practice use an electronic record, get patient consent to bill, and have a written care plan in place. Then the practice needs to track the time in a calendar month. None of this is part of a practice routine and Medicare only has data on early months,” Hollmann said.
