Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC)

See the following -

A Legal Challenge to CMS' Reliance on the RUC

Brian Klepper and David Kibbe | Health Affairs Blog | August 9, 2011

This week in a Maryland federal court, six physicians based at the Center for Primary Care in Augusta, GA filed suit against HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CMS Administrator Donald Berwick. Read More »

Physician Panel Prescribes the Fees Paid by Medicare

Anna Wilde Matthews and Tom McGinty | Wall Street Journal | October 26, 2010

Three times a year, 29 doctors gather around a table in a hotel meeting room. Their job is an unusual one: divvying up billions of Medicare dollars.

The group, convened by the American Medical Association, has no official government standing. Members are mostly selected by medical-specialty trade groups. Anyone who attends its meetings must sign a confidentiality agreement. Read More »

Quit the RUC

Brian Klepper and David Kibbe | Kaiser Health News | January 20, 2011

Three times a year, 29 doctors gather around a table in a hotel meeting room. Their job is an unusual one: divvying up billions of Medicare dollars.

The group, convened by the American Medical Association, has no official government standing. Members are mostly selected by medical-specialty trade groups. Anyone who attends its meetings must sign a confidentiality agreement. Read More »

The Little-Known Decision-Makers for Medicare Physicians Fees

Uwe E. Reinhardt | The New York Times | December 10, 2010

Have you ever heard of the RUC? If not, you are not part of the small circle of cognoscenti who know what makes the world go ’round – at least in Medicare. To enter the circle, read on. Read More »

Trusting Government: A Tale of Two Federal Advisory Groups

David Kibbe and Brian Klepper | Health Affairs Blog | February 2, 2012

By contrast, and despite its immense influence over Medicare and commercial health expenditures, the RUC proceedings are opaque. Its meetings are closed to the public – participation requires an invitation from the Chair – and transcripts are not publicly available. Members vote secretly by electronic ballot, and the AMA discards records of the votes. Still, CMS has accepted more than 90 percent of the RUC’s 7,000 recommendations since 1991, often without further due diligence. The RUC is also rife with conflict.

Read More »