Pediatric Coding Alert

Question: Two of our insurers follow the Medicare fee schedule in assigning fees, and we read your article about the projected 27 percent conversion factor cut with interest. Has this cut gone into effect?Alabama SubscriberAnswer: No, fortunately the cut has not gone into effect. Although the government appeared poised to take a big bite out of your next payments, you have another two months before you need to worry about losing pay. That's because the 27 percent cuts that practices have feared since last fall were kicked to the curb by Congress, resulting in a Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor of $34.0376 through Feb. 29. Problems aren't over: Although Medicare pay is now set to drop on March 1, the AMA is hopeful that Congress will find a longer-term solution before then. "With this brief reprieve from the massive 27 percent cut to Medicare payments, Congress now has to [...]