You might be a coding and payment geek if . . .
The arrival of the new ICD-9 manual recently reminded me that there are certain things that distinguish coding and payment geeks from otherwise "normal" people. So, for your consideration, I offer you...
View ArticleA familiar tune
The end-of-year holiday season is upon us. I can always tell it is because of the displays in the stores, the songs on my radio, and the phone calls I receive asking about the status of next year's...
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 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 ArticleWhat the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule tells us about the future
The final rule for the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule went on display this week. Of course it includes the all-too-familiar fee cut (27.4 percent) – the result of the Centers for Medicare &...
View ArticleAnother patch and another cliff
Last week, a U.S. House-Senate Conference Committee reached a 10-month deal that would maintain current physician payment rates through the end of the year. The measure, H.R. 3630 (at the THOMAS...
View ArticleMedicare's fiscal cliff averted ... for now
They waited until the very last second, but members of Congress on Tuesday approved legislation that preserves Medicare physician payment rates for another year and delays planned budget cuts until...
View ArticleAnother patch and more time to prepare for ICD-10
Following up last week's post, the Senate approved and the president signed a House bill that prevents steep cuts to Medicare physician payments from going into effect for one year. The bill (now law)...
View ArticleSGR, ICD-10 not the only targets of adopted legislation
Last week's SGR legislation didn't just push back Medicare cuts and delay ICD-10 implementation. A new blog post by Betsy Nicoletti notes that the 123-page bill passed by Congress and signed into law...
View ArticleCongress races calendar to repeal Medicare pay cut
Update: On April 14, Congress enacted the Medicare Access and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA),repealing the sustainable growth rate and negating the 21.2...
View ArticleMedicare legislation repeals flawed physician payment formula, avoids cuts
Last night, the U.S. Senate voted 92-8 to repeal the sustainable growth rate formula that is used to calculate Medicare physician payment rates. The vote prevents a looming 21.2 percent cut for...
View ArticleSustainable growth rate repeal: Now what?
As noted earlier this week, Congress has enacted the Medicare Access and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). This legislation repeals the sustainable growth...
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