Hospital Outpatient Fee Schedule Would Cut Payments by 7.6%

By Greg Jones, Western Bureau ChiefThe Resource-Based Relative Value Scale outpatient fee schedule proposed by the California Division of Workers' Compensation is expected to cut maximum allowable payments to hospitals by 7.6%, according to an analysis prepared by the Rand Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace.The division plans to base payments for services provided in hospital outpatient departments on Medicare's RBRVS, the same methodology used in the new Physician Fee Schedule that took effect at the start of the year.Reimbursement for outpatient services is now dictated by...