What Does Relative Value Schedule Mean?
A relative value schedule (RVS) is a list of procedures for a surgery and the amount for each procedure. Insurance companies will reimburse the amount or pay for it depending on the particulars of the health policy. The amount for each procedure is already predetermined by Medicare and other insurance companies that follow Medicare's model of pricing, which is based on factors such as the difficulty of the procedure and the cost of living in the area.
Insuranceopedia Explains Relative Value Schedule
Relative value is assigned to a procedure. It was established by Medicare in order to get a fair price for every surgical procedure across the United States. Because the cost of living differs in every area, the same procedure might have a different cost than it does in another location.
Other local factors can affect the cost of procedures but are not reflected in the relative value schedule. An area's abundance of cardiologists, for instance, might drive the price of heart surgery down in a particular area without affecting the scheduled amounts.