The Resource-Based Relative Value Scale forms the basis of the system that determines how much medical providers are paid and is currently used by virtually all Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in the United States and by the Medicare system.

The RBRVS assigns a relative value to procedures which is then adjusted according to geographic region. According to the scale then, a procedure performed in Manhattan would be worth more than one performed in Tucson, Arizona. This determined value is then multiplied by a fixed conversion factor to determine the payment amount. (The conversion factor is changed annually.)

Because the procedures are identified by CPT codes copyrighted by the American Medical Association, and because a license fee is charged to anyone who wants to associate RBRVS values with CPT codes, the AMA annually receives a profit of some $70 million from this overall system. Critics suggest that this arrangement makes it impossible for fees to be accurately and fairly calculated and passed on to consumers.

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