Medical billing -- another primer

Dr. Bob's most recent blogpost is a must-read.
Here is your assignment:

Go read what he says then come back to this list able to define and discuss each of the following terms.

• procedures
• E&M Services
• the UCR system–for Usual, Customary, and Reasonable
• RVUs–relative value units
• conversion factor
• amended schedule
• edits
• component edit
• mutually exclusive
• black box edits
• bundled procedure
• modifier
• determining E&M service levels

Actually, that last item is not covered. That is to be the jumping off place for Part Two. He hasn't told us how many parts there might be. I'm hoping they stop somewhere in the single digits, but with the subject under discussion, I'm not optimistic.

Not now, but later, I want someone to plow through all this stuff then come back to the comments section and explain to me and everybody how we have the best health care system in the world and it doesn't need anybody messing around with it. I have very serious problems with health care being treated as a commodity, as in soy beans or precious metals or orange juice. For everyday economic challenges like food, shelter and transportation, there seem to be cheap (read second-hand, shabby, undesireable, whatever) offerings at the low end of the market. At the extreme end of these there is always dumpster-diving, walking or sleeping in the woods, but the low end of health care seems to be get sicker and wait to die. There is something about that scenario which sticks in my craw.

Oh, I forgot. There are three other terms that need to be on the list above: Variable, constant and the wonderful new postmodern (Ready for this?) variable constant!