Calculating Medicare Payments From RVUs and GPCIs
Published on Sun Jul 01, 2001
By definition, geographic practice cost indices (GPCIs) differ from region to region. Here is an example of how a single-view chest x-ray would be calculated in Kentucky.
Procedure: A chest x-ray (71010-26), performed in a facility (hospital-based); transitional for 2001 (see chart)
To calculate the actual fee schedule amount for a single view of the chest, multiple the GPCI-corrected total RVU by the national conversion factor of $38.2581. This reveals that the anticipated Medicare payment would equal $9.33 in 2001.
The HCFA file (see insert for link) contains a complete listing of the 2001 GPCIs by Medicare carrier and locality.