Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) is a scheme used to determine how much money medical providers should be paid. It is currently used by Medicare in the United States and by several Health maintenance organizations (HMOs).

RBRVS assigns procedures performed by a physician or other medical provider a relative value. This is then multiplied by a fixed conversion factor (in dollars) to determine the amount of payment.

History

RBRVS was created at Harvard University in their national RBRVS study from December 1985 and completed on September 29, 1988. William C. Hsiao FSA was the principal investigator who organized a multi-disciplany team of researchers to develop the RBRVS. In the academic world, the principal investigator is the person who leads and takes the full responsible for the research and develops the conceptual and technical foundation for the project. The team consisted of outstanding colleagues (statisticians, physicians, economists and measurement specialists) who made major contributions to produce the results.

In 1988 the results were submitted to the HCFA (today the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS) to be used in the American Medicare system. In December of the following year, President George H. W. Bush signed into law the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, switching Medicaid to an RBRVS payment schedule. This took effect in January 1, 1992. Starting in 1991, the American Medical Association has updated RBRVS continually. As of May 2003, over 3500 corrections have been submitted to the CMS.

External links

• RBRVS entry in glossary of terms on the hrsa.gov website
• Medicare RBRVS: The Physicians' Guide - a print publication giving details on Medicare's use of RBRVS

Medicare and Medicaid (United States)