The RUC – A surgeon’s perspective

Clearly the RUC is far from perfect. Many of the objections, however, are based on perceptions, not the realities, of the process. The chair of the RUC has stated that she has never turned down a request to attend an RUC meeting. Transparency may appear as a solution to perceptions of secrecy and self-interest of specialties, but comes with its own set of problems. Using a group of surveys to value work is less than perfect and making the survey uniform will, in my opinion, make accurate valuation more difficult. That said, I do not believe any other body in existence or proposed could assume the work of the RUC. The specialties and the AMA pay for the whole process and then present the many hours of work to CMS without charge. I seriously doubt a group of economists, public health experts, or even other health care providers could accurately determine the amount of work required for a specific procedure. Only physicians have the skill set, experience, and knowledge to do this.

Dr. Rubin is an ACS Fellow, chair of the ACS General Surgery Coding and Reimbursement Committee and alternate delegate of the AMA Relative Value Update Committee.