A overall percentage decrease in physician fees to be paid by Medicare during the period of transition to the resource based relative value scale (RBRVS). The assumption was made by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) that physicians would attempt to adjust to the RBRVS (which will reduce physician fees for certain services) by increasing their volume of services, i.e., by changing their behavior. Thus the fee reduction to counter this and keep the total Medicare spending for physician services from increasing was termed by HCFA a “behavior offset.” The process of adopting the RBRVS also had a “volume adjustment” aimed at the same goal, and a great deal of opposition developed in Congress as well as among physicians against the additional behavior offset.