Take Action Now to Finalize Student Documentation Proposal

Following nearly two years of persistent, interprofessional advocacy by PAEA and other groups, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its calendar year 2020 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule in late July. This proposed rule, which is released annually as an update to Medicare’s reimbursement policy, includes an important proposal to allow all preceptors to verify, rather than reperform, documentation provided by PA students for billing purposes. 

While the inclusion of this change in the proposed rule is a significant victory in PAEA’s efforts to incentivize clinicians to train students, the change is not yet final. To ensure all preceptors can utilize PA student notes, we need your help. Through September 27, CMS is accepting public comments on the Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, which the agency will review prior to issuing a final rule in early November. If the agency’s student documentation proposal is included in the final rule, the change in policy will take effect on January 1, 2020.

To help facilitate a strong show of support for CMS’ proposed change, PAEA’s Government Relations Team has made it easy for you to share your opinion. To submit a supportive comment, simply use PAEA’s Grassroots Action Network platform, which will automatically forward your message to the agency. While we have provided suggested language to use in your message, we highly encourage you to personalize the comment to convey the impact that restricted use of student documentation has had on your program’s ability to recruit and retain preceptors.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at advocacy@PAEAonline.org.