Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has recently proposed an amendment to Medicare legislation which is designed to seek up to a one year delay in eliminating the consultant code for specialist reimbursements. Some specialists are saying that this proposed change to Medicare billing documentation — designed to offset what CMS calls “significant” overpayments to consultant physicians — will affect the breadth of specialty care for Medicare beneficiaries.

This would, of course, code such visits as routine and non-consultative, affecting reimbursement rates negatively for subspecialists. Are these the types of cuts President Obama is seeking within Medicare to pay for reform?

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