PCC's September Webinar

Shortchanged: How Medicare’s Physician Fee Schedule Undervalues Primary Care & Shortchanges Patients & Female Physicians

A study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 202 that showed female primary care physicians (PCPs) were spending more time per patient per day in the clinic on average, billing fewer visits and generating 10% less visit revenue than male PCPs, controlling for other physician and patient characteristics. Female PCPs spent even more time than their male counterparts with patients who had two or more chronic conditions. The study added urgency to the need to reform primary care payment to reward better health outcomes rather than visit volume.

The Medicare physician fee schedule pays clinicians for time, resources, and effort, known as “relative value units” (RVUs) and encourages volume—not better patient outcomes. This webinar will discuss features of the Medicare fee schedule and how its underlying “valuations” can have negative consequences for patients and primary care clinicians, including exacerbating inequities.

Hoangmail (Mai) H. Pham, MD, MPH

President & CEO, Institute for Exceptional Care
Hoangmai (Mai) H. Pham is President and CEO of Institute for Exceptional Care, a non-profit dedicated to transforming healthcare for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dr. Pham is a general internist and national health policy leader. She was Vice President at Anthem, responsible for value-based care initiatives. Prior to Anthem, Dr. Pham served as Chief Innovation Officer at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, where she was a founding official, and the architect of foundational programs on accountable care organizations and primary care. Dr. Pham has published extensively on provider payment policy and its intersection with health disparities, quality performance, provider behavior, and market trends. She serves on the boards of Atlantic Health System and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care. read more

Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Health Services Researcher, & Primary Care Physician, Harvard Medical School & Brigham and Women's Hospital
Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, health services researcher, and practicing primary care physician at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her research focuses on primary care payment and delivery, the use and consequences of low-value care, and gender equity. Dr. Ganguli serves as an Associate Editor at JAMA Internal Medicine and as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Standing Committee on Primary Care. She is also a former journalist who has written about science and health care for The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. read more

Tobey Oliver, MPP, JD

Senior Policy Advisor, AARP Public Policy Institute
Tobey Oliver is a Senior Policy Advisor in the AARP Public Policy Institute, focusing on health care, particularly Medicaid, including protecting and expanding access to benefits and coverage, as well as quality and affordability. Her recent work has focused on Medicare Savings Programs, Medicaid expansion, and streamlining enrollment in safety net programs Prior to AARP, Ms. Oliver served in the federal Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of Health and Human Services. She also previously worked as a federal contractor for CMS with NORC at the University of Chicago on projects focused on Medicare and Medicaid priorities. read more

Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP

Professor of Medicine & Dean for Medical Education, University of Chicago Medicine
Dr. Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP (NAM) is a Herbert T. Abelson Professor of Medicine and Dean for Medical Education at The University of Chicago Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine. As Dean, she oversees undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, continuing medical education and provides key leadership for the simulation-based training programs at University of Chicago. Dr. Arora is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine whose work improving care and learning in teaching hospitals has been funded by NIH, AHRQ and the Macy Foundation, has been cited over 10,000 times. Her work on improving sleep, fatigue and handoffs was influential in improving working conditions for residents. read more
Go to top