2 Topic Commentaries

Call to Increase Cataract Payment Rates

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  Catherine L. Chen, MD, MPH

  Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care; Health Policy

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  University of California San Francisco, Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Care; Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies

  To incentivize this transition and align financial incentives to support clinical innovation, instead of implementing full-scale site-neutral payment all at once, policymakers could appreciably increase the professional fee for cataract surgery under the physician fee schedule when ophthalmologists perform cataract surgery in the office-based setting.

  Source
• 

  David S. Portney, MD

  Ophthalmology

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  University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

  This analysis suggests that Medicare reimbursement undervalues complex cataract surgery, and an increase to complex cataract surgery reimbursement may be justified.

  Source