Tag: physician reimbursement

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Professional, Hospital E/M Charge Index Continued to Grow in 2021

In addition to the hospital E/M charge index rising, prices for professional evaluation and management, surgery, medicine, and radiology services increased last year. The median charge index for hospital evaluation and management (E/M) visits increased by 7 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a white paper from FAIR Health. The FH Medical Price Index […]
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2022 Claims Reimbursement Updates in Emergency Medicine

Emergency medicine is facing a host of claims reimbursement updates this year, from looming Medicare payment cuts to new rules about the split and critical care visits. Emergency department providers are still reeling from the effects of the ongoing pandemic. But other important updates are also happening in the background—and they are likely to impact […]
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AMA Challenges MedPAC Suggestion to Freeze Medicare Physician Payment

The industry group states that Medicare physician payment bump will hinder the delivery of high-quality care as providers face financial burdens. MedPAC, a panel tasked with advising Congress on issues impacting the Medicare program, voted to recommend no increase to 2023 Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians. “Temporary or high variable coronavirus effects are best addressed […]
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6 BEST REIMBURSEMENT STORIES OF 2021

Here are the six best reimbursement stories from 2021 HealthLeaders’ coverage and beyond. COVID-19 continued to impact healthcare reimbursement as the pandemic entered its second year. Yet, what’s different is that longer-term strategies and new business opportunities are emerging beyond crisis response. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) aided these plans by extending […]
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CMS Releases Final Rule for CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

  CMS has finalized the calendar year (CY) 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule to promote greater telehealth utilization, boost reimbursement rates for vaccine administration, and improve health equity, among other initiatives, the federal agency said. The final rule will implement “a series of standard technical proposals” as part of CY 2022 rate-setting, CMS said. The […]
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AMGA Pushes Congress to Prevent 10% Medicare Payment Cut

The industry group urged lawmakers to stop proposed cuts to Medicare payment for physicians as outlined in recent legislation and regulation. Medical groups are urging Congress to prevent significant cuts to Medicare payment that could be triggered by recent spending bills and a proposed rule from CMS. In a letter to Congressional leaders, AMGA (American […]
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$4.8B to COVID-19 Testing Reimbursement for the Uninsured

HHS will designate $4.8B from the American Rescue Plan to COVID-19 testing reimbursement under the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program. Under the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS announced it will allocate $4.8 billion to COVID-19 testing reimbursement for the uninsured as part of the American Rescue Plan. There are currently approximately 29 million uninsured […]
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Rolling Forecasts, Budget Flexibility Key 2021 Health Finance Trends

  After COVID-19 disrupted the healthcare system last year, finance teams adjusted processes to provide budget flexibility and rolling forecasts and will continue to do so in 2021, according to Syntellis Performance Solutions’ 2021 Healthcare Financial Trends Survey report. Compared to 2019, 59 percent more respondents expressed confidence in their team’s capacity to quickly adjust finance […]
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Physician Fee Schedule Updates May Increase Reimbursement, Time with Patients

Some updates to the evaluation/management codes on the 2021 Physician Fee Schedule will provide greater reimbursement to physicians and allow them to spend more time with patients, CMS and medical societies said. According to CMS, the code sets that it is finalizing will increase the value of certain services. These include: cognitive impairment assessment and care […]
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Clinicians Serving Socially At-Risk at a Disadvantage Under MIPS

Clinicians who served more patients with social risk factors such as low income performed worse in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System’s inaugural payment year, and therefore, received unfavorable value-based reimbursement, according to a new study. The study recently published in Health Affairs found that out of 510,020 clinicians participating in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2019, […]
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