Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Watch for changes in e-prescribing eligibility, practice expense RVU development. CMS's proposed 21.5 percent pay cut for 2010 and discontinuance of consult pay are just a few of the major points in the proposed Medicare Physician fee schedule. Read on for more highlights from the schedule, along with the corresponding page numbers from the document, which you can view in its entirety at www.federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2009-15835_PI.pdf. • The proposed conversion factor for 2010 is $28.3208, which results in the -21.5 percent payment update (page 663 of the proposed rule). • CMS has proposed removing physician-administered drugs from the definition of "physicians' services" (page 660). • You'll find that CMS proposes a payment boost for the initial preventive physical exam (IPPE), also known as the "Welcome to Medicare Exam" (G0402). CMS proposes making payment rates for G0402 equivalent to CPT code 99204; therefore, the work RVUs for G0402 would rise to [...]