The February Kidney News article “A Call to Action for Physicians: Become Informed and Empowered, and Begin to Heal Thyself” includes the statement, “The RUC [American Medical Association (AMA) Relative Value Update Committee] is a group of 32 physicians and other health care professionals who advise CMS [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] on how to value various medical services. The advice of the RUC is nearly always accepted by CMS, yet nephrology is not currently represented on the committee.”
In reality, nephrology has access to the RUC, because the Renal Physicians Association (RPA) is a member of the AMA House of Delegates, and Adam J. Weinstein, MD, was elected to one of the two 2-year internal medicine rotating seats of the RUC at its January 12–15, 2022, meeting (1). Kidney News congratulates Dr. Weinstein, who serves as Chief Medical Information Officer for DaVita, on his recent appointment and apologizes for the oversight.
Additionally, RPA's Health Care Payment Committee maintains a liaison with the AMA Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) advisory panel (2), which is another way the nephrology community can influence the RUC.
References
- 1.↑
RVS Update Committee (RUC). Composition of the RVS Update Committee (RUS). American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/about/rvs-update-committee-ruc/composition-rvs-update-committee-ruc
- 2.↑
Health Care Payment Committee, Renal Physicians Association (RPA). https://www.renalmd.org/page/healthcarepaycommit
