Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

News Brief:

Expect a 1.5% Increase in Reimbursements in 2004

Slated 4.5% cut averted by new Medicare bill CMS offered ophthalmologists an early holiday gift this year. Despite earlier reports of a 4.5 percent conversion factor decrease, CMS announced a last-minute increase, raising the conversion factor by 1.5 percent for 2004 and 2005.
 
Thanks to the Medicare Prescription Drug and Improvement Act, approved by Congress on Nov. 25, the conversion factor, which was 36.7856 in 2003, will rise to approximately 37.3373 (CMS has not released the new rate's exact amount).
 
"Passage of the Medicare bill is a historic victory for Medicare patients and their physicians," said AMA President Donald J. Palmisano, MD, in a Nov. 25 press release.
 
This is particularly good news for ophthalmologists, because CMS did not increase relative value units (RVUs) for most ophthalmology procedures. In fact, Medicare decreased the RVUs for many services (see chart below) and did not change the RVUs for most others.
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in Revenue Cycle Insider
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more

Other Articles in this issue of

Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

View All