Part B News | Editors' Blog

Once again, CMS doesn't connect with telehealth

by: Roy Edroso Nov 5, 2015

The latest Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule doesn't do much for telehealth -- five new codes allowed, several more proposed services rejected, and no change in the onerous "originating site" rule that keeps telehealth from taking off as a Medicare service.

But the nation's leading telehealth advocacy group isn't complaining.

2016 Medicare physician fee schedule released

by: Part B News staff Oct 30, 2015

Practices have a new revenue opportunity in 2016 for providing advance care planning (ACP) services, as finalized in the final 2016 Medicare physician fee schedule released Oct. 30.

What Super Committee deadline means for your cash flow

by: Grant Huang Nov 15, 2011

In one week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers dubbed the “Super Committee” must release a plan that cuts federal spending by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. If they don’t come up with something, or if Congress fails to approve the plan they release, you can expect automatic across-the-board federal cuts, including a 2% cut to your Medicare physician pay starting in 2013. This amount would be on top of the 27.4% pay cut set to hit Jan. 1, 2012.

CMS releases 2012 fee schedule final rule

by: Grant Huang Nov 2, 2011

Your Medicare payments will fall by 27.4% in 2012, under a conversion factor of $24.6712, which is slightly less than the 29.5% cut projected by CMS earlier under the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. The difference is due to Medicare costs growing slightly slower than expected, the agency says. Of course, this 27.4% cut isn’t the final word, because Congress has always stepped in at the last minute to avert SGR cuts.

Proposed 2012 fee schedule less than half the size of 2011's

by: Grant Huang Jul 6, 2011

We're deep into the pages of the proposed 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and still haven't seen light at the end of the tunnel, but one thing is clear already: weighing in at 621 pages, this is one slim tome compared to the 2011 proposed fee schedule. The 2011 edition was 1,250 pages, which means this year's version is less than half the length, or 49.6% if you want to be precise. TIP: Read our initial fee schedule findings here, if you haven't already. The biggest reason for the big difference in size has to be the health reform law, which required CMS to start turning legislation into actual rulemaking.

Login

User Name:
Password:
Remember me Forgot password
Welcome to the new Part B News Online. If you are a returning user having trouble logging in, please click here.

Your new password should have at least 6 characters.
Current Password
New Password
Confirm Password