CMS releases proposed Medicare physician fee schedule for 2018 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the proposed 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The California Medical Association (CMA) is pleased to note that there are a number of positive proposed changes that would help physicians improve patient care. CMS is also soliciting ideas from physicians to reduce Medicare and Medicaid regulatory hassles. Highlights of the proposed rule include: Request for information on regulatory relief: CMA applauds CMS’ invitation for physicians to submit ideas for regulatory, policy, practice and procedural changes to improve the health care system to ... July 24, 2017 Medicare CMS, Fee Schedule, Medicare, Regulatory Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
2017 Medicare fee schedule includes $140 million in additional funding for primay care The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday released the final 2017 Medicare physician fee schedule. The fee schedule transforms how Medicare pays for primary care through a new focus on care management and behavioral health, which is expected to result in an additional $140 million in payments next year for physicians providing these services. The 2017 physician fee schedule focuses on improving Medicare payments for services provided by primary care physicians for patients with multiple chronic conditions, mental and behavioral health issues, and cognitive impairment or mobility-related ... November 14, 2016 Medicare Fee Schedule, Geographic Practice Cost Index, GPCI, MACRA, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA urges CMS to recalculate practice expense data to reflect California's higher practice costs As required by law, at least every three years the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adjusts payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule to reflect local differences in practice costs. In the proposed 2017 Medicare physician fee schedule, CMS made nationwide updates to the geographic practice cost indices (GPCI) based on new wage, rent and malpractice expense data. Unfortunately, according to CMS, the malpractice and practice expense GPCIs went down in nearly every region of California, which would result in a 0.48 percent GPCI payment reduction in all ... September 22, 2016 Managed Care, Medicare Fee Schedule, Geographic Practice Cost Index, GPCI, Medicare, Regulatory Advocacy, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
Noridian posts updated Medicare Physician Fee Schedule California's Medicare contractor, Noridian, has posted an updated 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on its website. Last week, Noridian had removed the fee schedule because it contained several technical errors that needed to be fixed. This update is not expected to cause any delays in reimbursement for physicians, because under current law, clean electronic claims are not paid any sooner than 14 calendar days (29 for paper claims) after the date of receipt. The updated fees are valid for dates of service from January 1 through December 31, 2016. To see the ... January 25, 2016 Medicare Medicare, Noridian, Fee Schedule 0 0 Comment Read More »
Blue Shield fee schedule changes took effect November 1 n August, Blue Shield announced changes to its physician fee schedule that became effective November 1, 2015. In a notice sent to physicians, the insurer said that it was increasing payments for the more commonly billed office visit codes. The new rates are available on the Blue Shield website (go to www.blueshieldca.com/provider and log in, then select the “Professional Fee Schedule” link located under the "Claims" section menu). Physicians can also request a copy of the new fees by completing the allowance review form enclosed with the notice, or ... November 19, 2015 Managed Care Fee Schedule, Blue Shield 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medicare finalizes fee schedule changes for 2015 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule Thursday in the Federal Register. The 1,200 word payment rule contains several notable changes. As earlier proposed, the rule expands the services eligible for telemedicine reimbursement and extends the new payment policies for non-face-to-face care coordination. It allows primary care physicians to be paid for care management of Medicare beneficiaries with two or more chronic conditions. These are tasks (including managing lab and imaging reports, medications and care plans in addition to talking ... November 17, 2014 Medi-Cal, Medicare , Fee Schedule, Medicare, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS 0 0 Comment Read More »
