Blue Shield Of California Not Lowering Doctor Fees

NU Online News Service, Dec. 12, 11:55 a.m. – Blue Shield of California, San Francisco, says says it will continue to reimburse physicians on its standard fee schedule at 2001 rates next year and that it is not going to adopt the Medicare physician payment rate decrease of 5.4% announced by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services earlier this month.

Unless Congress intervenes, Medicare’s physician payment cut will be effective Jan. 1, 2002. The 5.4% reduction will be the fourth time in 10 years that physician payment levels were lowered across the board, the company notes. Like many health plan providers, Blue Shield uses the Medicare fee schedule to reimburse most physicians participating in its non-capitated plans.