Page 135 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

102 n CURREnT PRoCEDURAL TERMInoLoGY–CoDED SERvICES

relative work values, therefore providing an and the nurse representative served as chair
indication that services provided by nPs of the PEAC in 2006 (Sullivan-Marx, 2008).
C could be reliably valued in the Medicare fee In addition, in 2010, a nurse was appointed
schedule. to the prestigious federal policy commis-
To establish relative values for the prac- sion, the Medicare Payment Advisory
tice expense component of CPT codes, the Commission (MedPAC). The Congress estab-
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, lished MedPAC in 1997 to analyze access to
formerly the Health Care Financing care, cost, and quality of care and other key
Administration, developed and now relies issues affecting Medicare. MedPAC advises
on recommendations from AMA’s Relative the Congress on payments to health plans
value Practice Expense Advisory Committee participating in the Medicare.
(PEAC). Specialty societies that serve on McGivern, Sullivan-Marx, and Fairman
PEAC survey their members to obtain accu- (2010) reported that organized nursing’s
rate “direct input” data for the CPT codes, political profile is as high as it has ever been.
and then society representatives present Although the profession has made signif-
the data to the PEAC. The PEAC members icant strives in terms of reimbursement
critique these data, making modifications during the past decades, there is consid-
as needed. After PEAC approval, data are erable need for future research and policy
forwarded to the Center for Medicare and developments.
Medicaid Services to use to calculate the
practice expense values (AMA, 2010). The Karen R. Robinson
AnA has a voting seat on this committee Hurdis M. Griffith