The trouble with consultations
In a rather surprising move, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) included in the proposed rule on the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule a proposal to remove codes for consultations...
View ArticleThe perils of the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule
Like an old-time movie serial, my last post (see "A familiar tune" on Dec. 23, 2009) left the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule dangling over a precipitous 21% drop and clinging to the hope that...
View Article2010 Medicare physician fee schedule: The saga continues
As you will recall, in our last installment (see "The perils of the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule," Jan. 13, 2010), the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule was headed down the tracks towards a...
View ArticleNo crosswalking!
As the dust settles following the removal of the consultation codes from the 2010 Medicare fee schedule, a lot of questions remain. Unfortunately, some of the people trying to answer those questions...
View Article2010 Medicare physician fee schedule: What next?
When we last left the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule (see "2010 Medicare physician fee schedule: the saga continues," Jan. 27, 2010), it was headed down the tracks towards a "Bridge Out!!" sign...
View Article2010 Medicare physician fee schedule: Stop me if you've heard this one before
I know that it's April 1, but this is not a joke. The U.S. Senate dropped the ball again, and Medicare payment allowances for physicians dropped 21 percent today. As you will recall from my last post...
View Article2010 Medicare physician fee schedule: Here we go again!
I feel like a broken record. On April 1 (see "2010 Medicare physician fee schedule: Stop me if you've heard this one before"), I shared with you how the Senate had again failed to pass legislation...
View ArticleAnd so it begins ... Medicare claims pay out today, fees cut 21 percent
With half of the year behind us, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2010 still hangs in limbo. This afternoon, the Senate voted to delay the cut another six months, but the cut is still in place...
View ArticleLooking ahead to the 2011 Medicare physician fee schedule
While the fate of the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule is temporarily settled, it is time to look ahead to 2011. On July 13, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its...
View ArticleMedicare participation: Why, indeed?
As I write this entry, the "SGR Countdown" on the Family Practice Management (FPM) home page has dropped to less than 40 days. And it reminds me of a question that a family physician asked awhile back:...
View ArticleThe 2011 Medicare physician fee schedule is here
This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled its final rule on the 2011 Medicare physician fee schedule. An initial review shows positive news with respect to the primary...
View ArticleSGR relief: Let us give thanks, for now
In my last post ("The 2011 Medicare physician fee schedule is here," Nov. 5, 2010), I noted that the fee schedule conversion factor would drop from its current $36.8729 to $25.5217 in January, unless...
View ArticleGood news from Medicare, over time
In my last post ("SGR relief: Let us give thanks, for now," Nov. 19, 2010), I referenced that the U.S. Senate had approved a one-month extension of the current Medicare physician fee schedule...
View ArticleNot e-prescribing in 2011 may cost you in 2012
By law, Medicare must apply a 1-percent reduction to Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) payments in 2012 for those physicians who do not successfully participate in the Medicare e-prescribing (eRx)...
View ArticleA happy new year, indeed!
In my last post ("Good news from Medicare, over time," Dec. 2, 2010), I mentioned that, assuming Congress intervenes again by the end of the year and the conversion factor for 2011 is no less than it...
View ArticleDrug screening codes have changed
There are now two drug screening codes for reporting use of a multiplexed screening kit that tests for multiple drugs or drug classes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service published new...
View ArticleYour Medicare participation options
A couple of recent news items have me asking again a question previously asked on this blog in October of 2010. "Why would any physician in his [or her] right mind want to participate in a system such...
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