subject: Make the most of 2.2 percent hike to Medicare rates [print this page] It remains to be seen whether the reimbursement yo-yo will start again this winter.
If you have been enjoying a very long summer vacation away from the office, you may have missed the latest pertaining to the Medicare reimbursement fee schedule saga.
For one week in the month of June, you faced substantially lower Medicare payments owing to a 21.29 percent cut that impacted your Part B claims. Thankfully, the US House of Representatives reversed those cuts on the evening of June 24, with a vote that also provides you a 2.2 percent pay hike through November 30.
Hold out hope for permanent reform
While your payments are safe until November, physician advocacy organizations throughout the length and breadth of the country, and practices too have expressed anger and uncertainty about this latest fix.
A June statement read, "Physicians are forced to make difficult practice changes to keep your practice doors open. Yet another statement called the six-month delay a very temporary reprieve and added that delaying the problem is not a solution. It does not solve the Medicare mess Congress has created with a long series of short-term Medicare patches over the last decade including 4 to avoid the 2010 cut alone.
For more on the Medicare reimbursement fee schedule saga, sign up for a one-stop medical coding website. When you get onboard such a site, you'll have access to a fee schedule tool that'll help you with ways to make the most of the 2.2 percent hike to Medicare rates as well as keep you updated on this.
Make the most of 2.2 percent hike to Medicare rates
