The Physician Fee Schedule describes service fees that must be the same for all patients and requires a public listing of common services.

• A. Resource Based Relative Value Scale
• B. Medicare Administrative Contractors
• C. International Classification of Diseases
• D. Service Fees Must Be The Same For All Patients And A List Of Common Services, Descriptions, And Fees Must Be Available To All Patients

Answer: (D)

The policy being tested is price transparency and uniform pricing for physician services under Medicare. The described idea—fees that must be the same for all patients and a public listing of common services with descriptions and fees—directly reflects how the Physician Fee Schedule is intended to function: standardize payments and make fee information publicly available so patients can see what services cost. The actual payment amounts in Medicare are determined through a system that assigns relative values to services (the relative-value concept) and then converts those values into dollar amounts, but the important point highlighted here is the requirement for consistent pricing and public access to fee information.

The other ideas relate to different parts of the Medicare framework: the relative-value scale is about how value is assigned to services, not about guaranteeing uniform fees or publishing a fee schedule for public view; Medicare Administrative Contractors handle claims processing and payer operations rather than setting fee rules; and the International Classification of Diseases is a coding system for diagnoses, not a pricing or fee disclosure mechanism.