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CMS-1403-FC
II. Provisions of the Final Rule with Comment Period
In response to the CY 2009 PFS proposed rule
(73 FR 38502) we received approximately 4,100 timely public
comments. These included comments from individual
physicians, health care workers, professional associations
and societies, manufacturers and Congressmen. The majority
of the comments addressed proposals related to independent
diagnostic testing facilities, anti-markup, prohibition
concerning providers of sleep tests, and the general impact
of the proposed rule on specific specialties. To the
extent that comments were outside the scope of the proposed
rule, they are not addressed in this final rule with
comment period.
A. Resource-Based Practice Expense (PE) Relative Value
Units (RVUs)
Practice expense (PE) is the portion of the resources
used in furnishing the service that reflects the general
categories of physician and practitioner expenses, such as
office rent and personnel wages but excluding malpractice
expenses, as specified in section 1848(c)(1)(B) of the Act.
Section 121 of the Social Security Amendments of 1994
(Pub. L. 103-432), enacted on October 31, 1994, required CMS
to develop a methodology for a resource-based system for
determining PE RVUs for each physician‘s service. Until
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