What is a Medicare modifier?

A Medicare value modifier allows for differential payments to physicians under the Medicare physician fee schedule, according to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. The adjusted payment is based on the difference between the cost of care performed and the reported quality of the care.

The Medicare value modifier is a feature first introduced into the system in 2015, and it is gradually being phased in. The quality metric of the Medicare value modifier is based on the physician quality reporting system, which encourages eligible individual providers and groups to report on the quality of care they provide, according to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.