Tag: Medicare Payment Rates

2021 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule

Final 2021 Medicare Pay Schedule: What Physicians Need to Know

The 2021 Medicare physician payment schedule finalized an AMA-developed approach for less burdensome coding and documenting of office and outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also extended Medicare payment for many services delivered via telehealth at least until the end of calendar year 2021, but indicated that […]
MPFS Telehealth Rule

CMS Finalizes 2021 Physician Fee Schedule, Including E/M Changes

After some delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS has released the final rule for the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The final rule unveiled by CMS yesterday evening will dictate how much Medicare physicians get paid for delivering care starting January 1, 2021. In the rule, CMS finalized a conversion factor of $32.41, which is a […]
Flexible 2021 MPFS rule

2021 Medicare Pay Schedule Eases Physicians’ Documentation Burdens

The final 2021 Medicare physician payment schedule includes a simpler, more flexible process for coding and documenting evaluation and management (E/M) office-visit services. But those positive changes, set to take effect in January, are accompanied by significant pay cuts for many physicians in specialties that provide relatively few office visits—cuts that come as the pandemic […]
COVID-19 Vaccines

Coronavirus: CMS Releases Plan For Vaccine Patient Price, Reimbursement

  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is laying the groundwork for the widespread release of a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine by releasing an interim final rule with comment period (IFC) with information on out-of-pocket patient costs and physician reimbursements. According to a news release, any vaccine which is authorized by the U.S. Food and […]
Telehealth Medicare Expansion

Early Impact Of CMS Expansion Of Medicare Telehealth During COVID-19

During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken unprecedented action to expand telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries. Since people were advised to stay at home to reduce risk of exposure of COVID-19, there was an urgency to increase access to telehealth services to help people who need routine care and […]
COVID-19 Coding

CMS Releases Medicare Payment Rates for COVID-19 Test CPT Codes

Medicare payment rates for CPT codes 87635, 86769, and 86328 range from $42.13 to $51.31, CMS recently announced. CMS recently revealed how much it will pay for new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) for COVID-19 diagnostic tests. The guidance previously detailed Medicare payment rates for Healthcare Common Procedure […]
CMS IPPS Rule

2021 IPPS Proposed Rule: CMS Proposes Increased Payment Rates

According to the proposed rule, CMS projects total Medicare spending on inpatient hospital services, including capital, will increase by about $2.07 billion in FY 2021. CMS’ fiscal year (FY) 2021 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule, released May 11, includes a proposed increase to hospital payment rates, the creation of a new Medicare-Severity Diagnosis-Related Group […]
MEDICARE PAYMENT

CMS Proposes FY 2020 Medicare Payment Updates For Post-Acute Care

Recently proposed rules would boost FY 2020 Medicare payment rates for several post-acute providers, including skilled nursing facilities and hospices. April showers bring May flowers. But, this year, they are also bringing a slew of new Medicare payment rate proposals, including reimbursement and quality reporting updates for several types of post-acute care providers. CMS recently […]